The Plays of Fate
by theblazinghope2235
Summary: Fate is a strange thing. Sometimes it works against you. Sometimes it's inevitable and sometimes it gives you a push in the right direction. Ash knows this all to well. It was thanks to the Plays of Fate that he will become the great trainer that he was meant to be.
1. Chapter 1: A Pokémon Egg

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

_"Telepathy"_

* * *

In the depth of night a truck was being loaded close by a train station. There where five shady characters working frantically to load multiple crates filled with who knows what into the truck as fast as they could.

"Come on. Hurry up. I want this job to be done with as fast as possible." One of the shady characters hissed under his breath at the other people in the clearing.

There was no reaction except for the quickening of the loading. All the others _knew_ what would happen if they talked back to their leader, and it wasn't pretty.

Crate after crate was loaded into the back of the truck. It didn't take long before all the crates had been secured inside the steel plating.

The leader quickly gave out his orders, "You four will be going back to base. I will make the delivery myself." The other four obeyed their leader, and quickly left the scene, disappearing into the woods.

The only man left in the clearing fished a small key from his breast pocket, and entered the truck. As he entered, the moon appeared from behind the clouds, and lit up the clearing, allowing the symbol on the man's back to be seen: A big red R.

The lights in front of the truck went on as the Team Rocket Grunt started the vehicle. The engine rumbled to life, and the truck set off into the night with its mystery contents safely secured in the back.

Well, maybe not safely. After all, the lock that kept the doors in the back of the truck shut had been left open in the grunts haste to get their jobs done.

* * *

Ash Ketchum was excited.

It was a beautiful day in Pallet Town. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and several Pokémon flew in the crisp morning air. Several people could be seen outside, enjoying life for what it was.

Seven year old Ash Ketchum looked on eagerly as he walked hand in hand with his mother as they tracked towards the famous professor Oak's Ranch. Today was the day he would be able to play with the all of the Pokémon the lab contained. He had always enjoyed spending time with them and learning everything one could know about them. Times like these were the highlights of his life, and it made him excited for the start of his Pokémon journey in three years time.

Ash looked up to his mom, who flashed her son a cheery smile when she noticed that he was looking at her. Delia Ketchum was also pretty excited today. With her son at professors Oak's lab, she could visit the nearby newly opened spa. While see loved her son dearly, being a single mother was a very hard job, as such it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that she would jump at the chance of relaxation.

Ash ears perked up when he heard the tell tale sound of an engine roaring down the road. His mom heard it two, clear from the fact that she gently started to tug Ash to the side of the road.

Not a minute later a big white truck came thundering down the road, obviously exceeding the set speed limit. Delia frowned at this.

Inside the truck, the Team Rocket Grunt riding the truck was trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. He had been riding all night. He was tired, but he couldn't stop until he had delivered his cargo. Time was of essence in this operation and he needed to deliver the cargo before mid-day.

It was because of this, out of exhaustion and haste, that he missed a pothole in the road.

The Team Rocket Grunts eyes snapped wide open when the truck suddenly bucked widely. He quickly snapped to attention and pressed his foot down on the brake. He came to a screeching stop on the road.

The Grunt sighed in relieve. Shaking the scare of the grunt immediately pushed down on the gas again and took of in a hurry down the road. He would never know that he had lost something important in his haste to get to his destination. Something that would affect the future of a young aspiring trainer to the extreemes.

When the truck had hit the pothole in the ground, the doors in the back of the truck had slammed open and a crate that hadn't been tied down properly in the Team Rocket Grunt's haste to get the job done had flown out, nearly hitting Ash as it crashed into the ground a few meters in front of him and his mother.

The crate slammed into the ground and broke open on contact. A glass container came flying out of the wreckage and would have slammed into the ground if Ash hadn't jumped forwards from his mothers grasp and caught the glass container safely in his arms.

Delia immediately ran to her child and looked him over to make sure that he was fine. She was relieved to see that her son was perfectly fine. She turned towards the truck, expecting to see the driver coming out of the truck, only to be surprised to see the truck disappearing from her vision as it rounded the hill she and her son had just come from.

Delia shrugged before she turned back to Ash, and saw him kneeling in order to get a clear look into the glass container that he had sat down on the ground.

The curious mother looked over her son's shoulder and was surprised at the contents of glass container.

It was an egg, but not an ordinary egg. It was a Pokémon egg.

She walked closer, and examined the eggs features closely. It was mostly coloured dark blue with black spots here and there circling the entire egg. It actually looked kinda cute to her.

Ash on his part was astounded. He had heard of Pokémon eggs before but he hadn't ever seen one up close like this. He was curious what Pokémon the egg contained, "Hey mom. What kind of Pokémon do you think that this egg belongs to?" He asked as he turned towards his mother with big wide and innocent eyes filled with wonder that only young children can make.

Delia giggled at her child's expression and picked up the glass container, "I don't know sweetie. But maybe professor Oak can tell you." She took her sons hand in her own again and resumed their walk to the Ranch of the famous professor Oak.

Ash smiled and allowed his mother to guide him to their destination. The entire way, though, he kept shooting glances at the egg in the glass container in his mothers arms. The same questions shooting through his head constantly.

What kind of Pokémon was inside the egg? And would it want to be his friend?

* * *

The famous professor Oak smiled as he observed a group of Nidoran's running around his backyard. He could see a flock of Pidgey fly over his head and towards the sun. He could even make out the Magikarp swimming in a far of lake. The scene was magical to experience and he could see it every day if he wanted too!

This was the reason why he became a Pokémon professor. He was enamoured in their beauty, their power and their grace. He wanted to understand them, how they accomplished their power and grew into the mighty beasts that they where in their hearts.

He could never get enough of Pokémon. So long as he lived and new mysteries and questions about Pokémon came into being he would be a happy man that could die with a smile on his aged face.

He perked up when he heard his front door bell ring. He turned around and walked into his lab, heading towards the front door with a smile on his face. Another thing that made his heart beat faster in happiness was introducing other people to the wonders of Pokémon.

He opened the front door and his smiled widened even more when he saw an old friend and her son. Delia and Ash Ketchum. He was about to greet them before his eyes and attention were drawn to the glass container in his old friends arms. More specifically to the Pokémon egg in inside of it.

"Delia, Ash. It is nice to see you again. I assume that you have come here to show me that Pokémon egg." Oak greeted them warmly, all the while still eyeing the egg in Delia arms.

Delia smiled and replied, "Actually, we came here because Ash wanted to play with the Pokémon. But on our way here this egg here came flying out of a truck and Ash managed the catch it before it fell to the ground. We're quite curious what kind of Pokémon egg it is." The mother said as she gestured towards the black and blue egg in her arms.

Oak, while surprised at how the two in front of him came into possession of the egg, didn't let it show on his face, and nodded, "All right then. Come inside and I'll tell you all I can about the egg."

The famous professor stepped aside, allowing Delia and Ash to enter. Oak closed the door and lead the mother and son duo to his lab. He gestured for Delia to place the glass container containing the blue and black spotted egg on a small pedestal in the centre of the room.

Little Ash all the while never lost sight of the egg. His mind still whirling on his earlier questions.

Oak rubbed his chin in thought as he walked around the egg, studying the egg in it's entirety with a contemplative look on his face. mentally noting down the egg's colours, it's width, weight and size.

Delia and Ash looked on in fascination as the famous professor studied the mystery egg. The questions in their mind growing by the second. Finally, Ash's patience failed him, "So, what kind of Pokémon is it?"

Oak looked up from his pondering's at Ash's question and sighed, "I'm not sure. I can tell that it is a Fighting-Type and that it isn't native to Kanto. But other than that I have no clue about what kind of Pokémon the egg might contain."

He could see the disappointment in Delia and Ash's eyes. Thankfully he knew someone that could give him the answers that he needed, "Luckily for us I know someone that can give us the answer."

Both mother and son blinked and were surprised to see the professor Oak walk up to a VideoPhone in the corner of the lab, "Who are you going to call?" Delia asked.

Oak grabbed the phone and started to dial a number, "Hmm, oh. I am going to call professor Elm. He is the leading expert on Pokémon egg's." He said as he finished dialling the number.

The other Professor's image appeared, "Hi there Oak, what's up?" Elm asked. He was wearing his usual lab coat.

Professor Oak got straight to the point, knowing that the other professor was probably busy and didn't want to waste time, "I have a favour to ask of you professor Elm. Some people in my hometown found a Pokémon egg, but I can't identify what Pokémon it might belong to. Could you help me?" He asked. Professor Elm nodded, "Thanks, I know that it is a Fighting-Type and that it isn't native to Kanto, but that's it." Professor Elm's eyes widened in surprise. He was quite sure that professor Oak would have been able to find out more about the egg, "I've sent you the image off the egg together along with it's proportions." Oak told the other Pokémon Professor.

Professor Elm nodded and looked sideways to his own computer. Seeing the incoming E-mail, he opened the message and saw the image off the egg that Oak currently had laying in his lab, the image of the dark blue and black spotted Pokémon egg.

Scratching his chin. The leading expert in Pokémon egg's hummed in thought. He looked down at the measurements that his fellow Pokémon professor had included with the picture and started making assumptions and conclusions.

Half a minute later professor Elm turned his gaze back to professor Oak, "Hmm, from what I can tell it is absolutely a Fighting-Type but it also has Steel-Type attributes. And I think it is native to the Sinnoh region. But I can't tell exactly what Pokémon it might be, sorry."

Oak rubbed his chin in thought, "It has to be a very rare species of Pokémon if even you aren't able to identify it immediately." He noted. Oak sighed, "Thanks for the help Elm. I have to go now. I've a couple of people here that are waiting for me."

Elm nodded, "All right than. I will speak with you later then. Oh, and would you give me a ring when the egg hatches? I am quite curious what type of Pokémon it might be."

Professor Oak smiled, "No problem. We will talk later, okay." Elm nodded, "All right then. Bye."

Oak shut of the VideoPhone and turned back to Delia, "Did you hear that?" The mother nodded, "Then you know everything that we can now at this point about the egg. We'll just have to wait till the egg hatches to find out what Pokémon it might be." He said before he turned to Ash, "I hope that satisfies your curiosity young man..." professor Oak trailed of and blinked when he noticed that Ash wasn't standing beside his mother anymore, "Where did he go?"

Delia blinked at the question. She looked towards her side and nearly panicked when she saw that her son had disappeared. She looked around the lab frantically. Thankfully, she found Ash almost immediately, leaning up against the pedestal. Looking into the glass container that housed the mystery egg that they had found.

She sighed in relieve and walked up to her son. She placed her hand on his shoulder once she reached him. Ash turned to look over his shoulder at her, "Please, don't walk of like that, sweetie. You really scared me there for a minute."

Ash nodded. Feeling slightly guilty. Delia smiled at him, seeing his guilty expression, "Are you still curious about the egg?" She asked.

Ash nodded, "Yeah, I want to know what kind of Pokémon it might contain. Is it a rare one? Is it cool? Is it powerful? I really want to know."

Professor Oak walked up to them. An amused grin on his face. It was his own desire to _know _that made him become a Pokémon professor. Seeing that trait in the new generation made his heart beat faster in happiness, "Is that so?" He mused. Ash and Delia turned to look at him, "I might not be able to help you in discovering what Pokémon it might be until it hatches. But I can make sure that you find out as soon as possible if you want."

Ash's little eyes widened and before he even knew it he had answered the professors question, "You can!? Thanks professor Oak!" But then he looked confused, "How will ouo do that, though?"

Oak smiled, "Simple, you will take the egg home with you and you will take care of it. That way you will be almost guaranteed to find out first what Pokémon it might be once the egg hatches. Would you and can you to take on such a responsibility, Ash?"

Delia looked shocked at the idea but Ash looked possibly giddy at the thought, "Yes! Of course I can take such a responsibility!"

Oak chuckled at the young boys enthusiasm. Delia objected, though, "But professor Oak. He is only seven years old. You can't expect him to take care of a Pokémon egg! Besides, this egg needs to go back to it's rightful owner."

Ash deflated at his mothers words. Knowing them to be true. But professor Oak wasn't deterred, "Delia, I have seen younger children than Ash take care of Pokémon egg's before. The only thing that one has to do to take care of a Pokémon egg is to make sure that it gets enough sun light and warmth. Nothing else. And we _won't_ be giving this egg back to its previous owners."

Looking up in shock, Delia spluttered, "We _Won't_! Why not! This egg belongs to someone else and as much as I would like to keep it, it just isn't right to keep something that you know isn't yours to begin with!"

Oak shook his head gravely, "No, I will not return an egg to someone who is obviously to incompetent to take care of a Pokémon egg in the first place! Think Delia, this person lost this egg because he or she didn't take the time to properly secure it! Face facts. A person like that _can't_ and _won't_ take care of this egg or any egg for that matter if I had anything to say about it."

Delia found it hard to deny those facts, but she wasn't totally convinced yet, "And you think a _seven-year old_ can do a better job?"

Oak shrugged, "Why not? I mean, you will be there to supervise of course, and it also helps that an egg doesn't have any necessities except for warmth and sun light. I have seen younger children than Ash take care of egg's and Pokémon alike before and I _know_ that dealing with the real live articles is way harder than taking care of an egg. The only issue that I can think of is that egg's are really brittle, but that is easily remedied by the protection of the glass container. These containers were designed to keep the egg warm, and to insure that the egg would be safe. There is nothing to worry about."

Delia struggled to find a counter argument for a moment, before giving in with a sigh, "Oh, all right you got me. Since Ash obviously wants this I won't bother asking if he wants this. But just to be sure." At this she turned towards her son, who was looking at her with enormous joy in his expression. She had to fight of a smile that threatened to form on her face. She bend down to look him in the eyes, "Now Ash. I know that you really want this, but are you sure that you can handle such a responsibility."

Ash nodded eagerly, "Of course mom. I promise that I will take good care of it."

Seeing the sincerity in her child's eyes, Delia let go of all her remaining doubts and smiled, "If you say so sweetie." She stood up straight and turned back to professor Oak, who had a big smile on his face, "All right then professor Oak. We will take care of this egg for now."

Clapping his hands, Oak's smile widened so much that it nearly split his face, "Great, will you be taking this egg home immediately, or will you stay a bit longer?"

Delia chuckled, "Well, Ash wanted to play with the Pokémon here if you don't mind. And I was actually planning to go to the newly opened spa at the edge of town."

Oak nodded and turned to Ash with another big smile, "All right then. Ash, just go out back into my yard. There are plenty of Pokémon there that would want to play with you. Just make sure that you don't anger them." He cautioned.

Ash was already half way down the hall leading into the backyard when Oak had finished speaking, "Will do professor Oak. See you later mom!"

His mother screamed after him, "Be safe sweetie and have fun!" Ash hardly heard it thanks to the distance in between them now.

Delia chuckled ruefully, "He is so excitable. Just like his father." She sighed with a small smile on her face, I'll be off now Oak. I'll come to pick him up at six."

Oak nodded and walked alongside Delia as they made their way to the front door, "All right. I will see you later than. Be safe." He said as they reached the front door.

Delia smiled and hugged him, "Look after Ash please. I know that the Pokémon here are very friendly but you never know."

Delia and Oak parted and smiled at each other, "No problem. I was planning to do that anyway." He opened the door and allowed Delia to step outside, "Goodbye."

Delia nodded at him and started to walk away, "Goodbye professor Oak. Remember I will be coming to pick Ash up at six."

She smiled as she heard her old friend laugh, "You know that I don't forget things easily Delia. I'll see you later." With that the professor shut the door.

Delia shook her head and set out for the spa. Eagerly awaiting the relaxation that was to come.

Oak walked out into his backyard with a smile on his face. He looked around, it wasn't long before he spotted Ash and the smile on his face grew a couple of inches at what he saw.

Ash was playing with the starter Pokémon he had the privilege to give away to beginning trainers in a month. Bulbasaur was sitting on his head, looking content with his resting place. Charmander was sitting on his lap, tickling the poor boy silly, making him laugh happily. And Squirtle was hanging onto his shoulder while happily chatting the time away with the others.

Oak loved it when he saw children playing with Pokémon. It was one of the most beautiful sights in the world to him.

Ash, on his end was enjoying himself immensely. It was these kind of moments that made him want to set out for his own journey all the more when he turned ten years old. Having Pokémon friends like this made his heart swell in happiness. He couldn't wait to begin catching more Pokémon that he could play with like this.

It also made him think. Who from these three Pokémon did he want to start his journey with? After all, your starter is the Pokémon who you will have the greatest bond with. It wasn't a choice he could make lightly.

While thinking his thoughts drifted back to the mystery egg he was going to take care of. He was still very curious of what kind of Pokémon it might be. After all, the other professor that he had overheard talking on the VideoPhone had said that the egg wasn't native to the Kanto region. It would surely be a unique Pokémon he had never even heard about.

Maybe the Pokémon that would come from the egg would become his starter. After all, if he was going to take care of it, it would be his responsibility and that would mean that the Pokémon would belong to him!

Smiling happily at the thought, Ash continued on playing with the three starters of the Kanto region. All the while looking forward to the day his new friend would hatch.

At a distance, Oak looked on in fondness at the sight and set down to enjoy the show of childhood innocence.

* * *

Half the day later, we find Delia at the front door of professor Oak's Ranch. She was fresh from the spa and you could see her practically glowing in contentment.

She rang the door bell and waited for the famous professor to make an appearance. Not half a minute later the door opened and Oak was revealed on the other side.

"Delia! You are right one time, like always." Oak said as he allowed the mother to enter his home.

Said mother merely giggled at her friends observation, "Now, Oak. You should know by now that I am always on time." She said gently to him.

Oak chuckled, "True." He commented as he walked towards his backyard with the mother in tow.

When they arrived they where confronted by a very cute sight. Ash had apparently fallen asleep, having exhausted himself playing with his new Pokémon friends, and had apparently also exhausted the Pokémon as they had also fallen asleep besides him. Ash laid on his back in the soft grass, Squirtle had cuddled close to Ash's hair, Bulbasaur had fallen asleep and had curled into a ball while laying on Ash's stomach and Charmander laid on the sleeping child's chest. All four them where sleeping the day away.

Smiling, Oak and Delia walked forwards. They both gently removed the sleeping Pokémon on and besides the sleeping boy so that they would not disturb their sleep. Delia picked up her son and cradled him in her hands as she followed professor Oak back into his lab.

"Ash, sweetie. Wake up. We are leaving now and I can't carry both you and the egg at the same time." Delia said as she gently rocked her child in an effort to wake him up. It worked as he woke up, feeling very groggy.

Delia gently put him down, making sure that her son was firmly standing on his feet.

Delia turned back to professor Oak and was surprised to see that he stood in front of them with the glas container containing egg in his hands. Smiling, Oak gave the container to Ash, who's eyes widened in wonder.

Chuckling at the scene, Oak reminded himself to call more children over to play with the Pokémon. They where just so cute when they where dealing with Pokémon.

Delia giggled and grabbed her son's hand while he hugged the glass container containing the egg to his chest with his free arm.

Delia looked back to professor Oak, "We'll be leaving then, Oak."

Said professor nodded and smiled at her, "It was nice to see you again Delia. Now, I have some important work to do. Can you let yourself out?"

Delia nodded and started to tug her son in the direction of the front door, "Of course Oak. I will seeing you in a weeks time. Goodbye!"

Oak waved at the mother and son duo, smiling widely, "Good bye. See you soon." He said as the two disappeared from his sight.

Delia and Ash where walking down the road that they had come from that morning back to their house. The entire way Ash hadn't taken his eyes from the egg he was holding to his chest.

Delia looked sideways to her son, "Still wondering what kind of Pokémon it might be?"

Ash answered distractedly, "Of course." Delia giggled.

The entire way home the same questions kept bouncing around in Ash's head. What kind of Pokémon could it be? Was it rare? Was it powerful? And most importantly, would it want to be his friend.

* * *

**A/N: Well I just decided to start this story. Read and Review! And enjoy of course!**

**Your dearest,**

**Theblazinghope2235. **


	2. Chapter 2: The Starting Choice

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

_"Telepathy"_

* * *

Ash smiled happily as he cleaned the blue and black spotted egg in his lap.

It had been two months since he and his mother had taken the egg home from professors Oak's lab. It had been an interesting two months for the seven-year old boy. Learning how to take care of a Pokémon egg and Pokémon in general had been more than interesting for the aspiring trainer.

His mother, just to be on the safe side, had forced him to read some books about learning how to take care of a Pokémon egg. While an egg only needed warmth and sunlight in order to sustain itself. It was widely rumored that the right care and affection for the egg may make it hatch sooner. The moment Ash had heard of this little detail, Ash had jumped at the books that Delia had taken from the local library to give to her son.

In the books he had learned that cleaning the egg regularly and spending a couple of hours with it a day would make sure that the egg would grow faster. This was all the information that little Ash needed in order for him to take his new tasks head on.

But that was not all that little Ash had been doing since he took the egg home from professors Oak's lab almost two months ago! The knowledge that he had attained from the books on Pokémon egg's had made him curious. If he could learn about _Pokémon_ _egg's_ in books, he could surely learn about _Pokémon _themselves in books, right? So the little boy had asked his mother to go back to the library and to borrow some more books on Pokémon for him to learn from.

Delia had been surprised and delighted at her childs request. Any parent would be happy if their children actually _wanted to learn_ about things. Even if it was about things like Pokémon.

She had happily obliged her son in his request and had gone back to the library. She returned an hour later with a set of three books to give to her son.

She had given Ash the books titled: _The Rookie Trainers Guide_, _The World of Pokémon_, and _Type correlation_.

The books where a wealth of information for the aspiring trainer, which made him really grateful that he had decided to read these books. It was now routine for him to go to the library and get new books to learn from when he finishes the set he was busy with at that time. He was now on his third set.

The young boy's routine had become pretty much set for him. Each day he would go out to play with a couple of his friends, then he would come home, have lunch, and spend the afternoon taking care of the egg. Then he would go study till his mother called him down from his room for dinner. After that he would relax for the rest of the night and then he would go to bed. He had basically spend his day's like this for the last two months.

Thinking back on it the small boy realized that it was by far the most fulfilling two months of his short life. He was feeling if he was really moving forwards to make his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master a reality! It was filling him with the feeling of accomplishment. It was an amazing feeling. He wondered how it would feel when he accomplished his ultimate goal.

Ash decided that he would shelf those thoughts for the night. He finished cleaning up the egg and stood up from his bed, taking the egg with him. He walked towards his desk where the glass container stood. He placed the blue and black spotted egg back in the container and closed it.

Giving one last smile at the egg Ash turned to leave...

_"Don't go!"_

Ash spun back around to the sound of the voice but he only saw the egg laying on his desk. There was no one else inside his room, that he knew. But where did that voice come from then? He heard it clearly and loudly. It sounded like it was pleading.

Now that he thought about it, The voice sounded like it came from inside his mind, but that couldn't be right...

_"Please, don't go." _

Ash's eyes widened even further and quickly examined the entire room. Now he was sure that no one was inside his room, yet someone was talking to him, from inside his own mind no less!

Ash's eyes turned back to the egg. He cautiously approached the egg and took it from the glass container and held it up close to his face. He could be considered crazy if he did this, hell, even he himself thought him crazy for doing this, but it was the only answer he could come up with for this baffling situation.

'_Are you the one that is talking to me?' _Ash asked the egg mentally. He guessed that if the Pokémon in the egg could speak with him in his mind then it might also be able to pick up his thoughts.

Ash heard nothing for a couple of seconds and was about to give up and call himself crazy for even thinking that an _egg _of all things could be talking to him when he suddenly heard a soft voice in his head.

_"Yes."_

If eyes could pop out of someones head, then Ash's eyes would have been rolling around on the ground. He could think of only one question to ask the Pokémon inside the egg.

'_How?'_

_"I'm not really sure. I just instinctual know how to talk to you using some strange energy that I can feel inside my body."_

Ash wasn't really sure what to make of that answer. But any other thoughts were kicked to the way side when he became excited at the fact that he could really _Talk _with the Pokémon inside the egg.

'_Really? That's so awesome! You must be a very powerful Pokémon if you can do that! What are you anyway?' _Ash asked excitedly.

The soft voice chuckled inside his head, _"Well, I wouldn't call myself powerful. I haven't even hatched yet!" _The voice said amusedly, _"As for what I am. Sorry, but I don't know the answer to that question."_

Ash looked utterly baffled, _'You don't know what you are?!' _He screamed mentally, making the voice cringe, _'How does _that _work?!'_

_"Well..."_ The voice drawled, _"My 'body' inside this egg isn't a body at all! I am just a mass of energy until I hatch when I have matured enough for that to happen. I won't know what I will be until I hatch from this egg." _The voice explained calmly.

Ash was surprised at this. He hadn't heard about this titbit regarding the Pokémon that resided inside an egg. It was in none of the books he had read about Pokémon egg's. Maybe it was an unknown fact. He would have to ask the professor about this later. For now though...

'_You asked me not to leave earlier didn't you?' _Ash asked rhetorically, '_Might I ask why you don't want me to leave?'_

Ash could feel the voice seemingly shrug. He shivered, it was a weird feeling, _'I'm lonely inside here and you are good company.' _The voice said softly.

Ash was silent for a couple of seconds before a big grin formed on his face. He started walking back to his bed and hugged the egg to his chest as he sat back down in his bed, _'Well, in that case I can't leave you alone, now can I?"_ He said rhetorically, _'Can you tell me a bit about yourself?'_

_"There isn't much to tell yet. Officially speaking, in your terms I haven't even been born yet." _The voice said slightly sadly, _"Why don't you tell_ me _about _you_, Ash."_

Ash blinked in surprise, _'How do you know my name? I didn't tell you my name did I?'_

_"No you didn't, but I managed to glean your name from your mind." _The voice said with a certain amount of satisfaction.

Ash's eyes twitched a bit at this, _'Not to be rude, but...I would really like it if you don't start looking through my mind anymore. There are something's that I want to remain private.'_

He could feel the voice nod it's assent, _''Sure, sorry if I have offended you." _Ash could hear the shame in the voice.

Ash shrugged, _'Nah, it's all right. Just don't do it again.'_

He could feel a smile form inside his head, _"Of course, Ash."_

* * *

A couple of hours later we find Ash sleeping in his bed with his pyjamas on. He was hugging the blue and black spotted egg tightly to his chest. The little boy had stayed up a couple hours longer then he would have done normally talking with his new friend that had yet to hatch.

A couple more hours went by. It was soon dawn and the sun started to rise over the horizon. The sun light peeked through the closed windows into the young boys face. Ash started to stir, but it wouldn't be this light that would wake him up from his slumber.

The egg that Ash was still hugging to his chest suddenly started to shine brightly. Lighting up the entire room with a brilliant white glow. Ash's eyes opened slowly before they shot open wide. He looked down in awe at the brightly shining egg. He was dimly aware at what was happening right in front of him.

Ash sat up at the edge of his bed and laid down the brightly shining egg in his lap. He looked down anxiously as the egg started to shine even brighter than before and started to change shape. He would finally know what kind of Pokémon his new friend was.

When the light died down a small blue bipedal jackal-like Pokémon was laying on his lap with it's eyes closed. Ash looked at the to him unknown Pokémon on his lap with awe. He had never seen a Pokémon like the one that was sleeping on his lap. Then blue and black coloured Pokémon opened it's deep red coloured eyes, looked up at him, and smiled.

_"Well it's about time that I hatched from that egg." _The blue and black Pokémon said in his mind with a very happy tone. The little Pokémon stood up and looked around in interest, _"I can finally see the world."_

Ash who had been gob-smacked into silence by seeing a Pokémon hatch from an egg for the first time finally snapped out of it and started laughing out loud and picked the jackal like Pokémon up, holding the Ppkémon in front of him. He examined him more closely. His new friend was a small, blue, jackal-like Pokémon. It's legs and torso are coloured black. It has a blue tail and has a yellow collar. There are rounded bumps on the backs of it's forepaws. The Pokémon has a black 'mask' and red eyes. The Pokémon stands on it's toes instead of it's entire foot.

'_Yeah, it was about time you hatched.' _Ash thought in glee to the Pokémon that could pick up his thoughts, _'So, do you know what you are now?'_

The blue and black coloured Pokémon looked up at Ash with pride shining in his eyes, _"Well, I'm one of the proud members of the species of Riolu."_

Ash raised an eyebrow in interest, "Riolu? I have never heard of that species of Pokémon before." Ash mused out loud.

Riolu smiled, _"Not surprising. My kind is from the Sinnoh region."_

Ash looked at Riolu with a puzzled look in his eyes, "How do you know that?"

Riolu shrugged, _"I just know that fact instinctively."_

Ash raised an eyebrow, "Really? Weird." He commented, "So what can you do besides communicating mind to mind?"

Riolu grinned brightly and was about to answer...before he was interrupted when the door to Ash's room was slammed open.

"Good morning sweetie. Get up, we have a lot to do today..." Delia who just entered the room with a bright smile on her face trailed of when she noticed that her son was already sitting up straight in his bed...with a blue and black coloured Pokémon in his arms.

Her eyes widened when she spotted the _empty _glass container in the corner of her eyes. Quickly deducing what happened the bright smile grew a few inches on the woman's face, "But first we will go visit professor Oak to tell him about our new friend."

* * *

The famous and once feared Pokémon trainer professor Samuel Oak was looking at his archenemy with a scathing glare that would have send fully grown men running for the hills. Unfortunately for him, his archenemy wasn't so easily scared. Scratch that, it couldn't feel fear at all, it didn't have the capacity to feel emotions even.

Paperwork. Lots of it.

Oh he loved his job. But even that came with a drawback. He couldn't put all his research notes on computers after all. There was a chance that a virus could infect his hardware and destroy all his carefully catalogued information. He had backup's of course, but he couldn't take the risk of _that _also being destroyed. So just to be sure he also wrote down al his discoveries in his private journals. He would have been fine with it, if he not hated to write things by pen or pencil.

Sighing, the old man sat down at his desk to get his job done. He flipped upon his old and worn out journal and picked up a pen and was about to start writing, but he was interrupted from doing so by hearing the doorbell being rung.

Oak grinned, _'An excuse.'_

The old man swiftly got up from his chair and made his way to the front door of his Ranch. He looked through the doors peephole and he was able to see his old friend Delia standing hand in hand with her son. Smiling, he immediately threw the door open and was about to greet them warmly, until he noticed something that he had missed earlier when he looked through the peephole.

A blue and black coloured jackal-like Pokémon was riding on Ash's shoulder and was looking at him with idle curiosity. It took him mere seconds to deduce what kind of Pokémon it was and were it came from.

Oak smile broadened, "Well, well, well. It seems our egg has finally hatched. With such a rare Pokémon no less." Although it wasn't needed, Delia and Ash nodded, "Come on in." Oak stepped aside and allowed the mother, son and Pokémon to enter.

Oak quickly led the trio surprisingly to his living room, they had suspected him to take them to his lab, "Take a seat." Oak said as he gestured to the couch in front of them. Ash and Delia quickly sat down while Riolu sat down in Ash's lap. Oak meanwhile started making his way to his lab, "I need to get something." He said as he made his way out of the room.

Which left Delia, Ash and Riolu alone in the room. It didn't take long for Delia ask the first question on her mind, "I wonder what you are?" She said as she gazed contemplatively at Riolu, who looked back at her with his head cocked to the side in a very cute display.

_"You could just ask."_

Delia started as she _clearly_ heard a voice _inside_ her mind. Her head snapped to Riolu, who was grinning impishly at her.

With wide eyes she asked slowly, "Did I just hear you inside my mind?"

Riolu nodded. Delia looked like she was about to have a heart attack and Ash was trying and failing to keep in his laughter at his mother's reaction at Riolu's ability to communicate with them.

Ash stopped laughing and looked at his mother in amusement, "Oh Yeah, I forgot to tell you he could do that."

Delia was speechless. She didn't know of _any _Pokémon who could do that! It was a _very_ handy ability to have, though, she thought to herself. A Pokémon that could communicate to it's trainer could grow far faster thanks to that ability.

At that moment professor Oak walked back inside the room with an object wrapped up in a some kind of cloth. He sat down in a chair facing the couch that Ash, Delia and Riolu were sitting on. He smiled at them, "Well, it's nice of you to come when our mystery egg finally hatched._"_ Oak said as he gazed at the only Pokémon in the room, "And it hatched into such a rare Pokémon too. Even in all my years as a Pokémon trainer _and _researcher I have never seen a Riolu op close like this before."

Riolu puffed out his chest in pride and gave the Pokémon professor a cheeky grin, _"Aww, you are making me blush."_

Oak was slightly startled at hearing the voice inside his mind but wasn't really surprised. He was already aware of Riolu's and the Lucario's species ability to communicate through their Aura abilities. He chuckled, "A cheeky one, ey." He muttered. Riolu grinned again.

Oak shook his head and looked both Ash and Delia in the eyes, "I assume you came here to learn more about our new friend." Both mother and son nodded, "As I suspected." The professor quickly unravelled the piece of cloth in his lap, revealing a brand new Pokédex.

Delia's and Ash's eyes widened at the sight of it. Oak laughed at the looks on their faces, "Yes, this is a real life Pokédex. And before you ask, I decided to give this to Ash as a gift."

Oak leaned over the small table that was separating them and handed the still wide-eyed boy the bright red device, "Go on, open it and give it a try." He encouraged the still wide-eyed boy.

Ash slowly opened the Pokédex and was startled when he heard a mechanical voice, "Hi, my name is Dexter. I am a Pokédex meant to be used by a future trainer. I will provide my user with information about all known Pokémon in my system if he or she so requires."

Ash slowly looked up and stared hard into the professors eyes, "Are saying what I think you're saying?"

Slowly a smile bloomed on Oak's face, "If you think I am saying that am going to allow you to become a trainer early, then yes."

Delia looked as shocked as Ash felt, "But professor Oak! He is way too young to go on his journey! Not to mention the fact that he doesn't even have his own Pokémon yet!"

Oak laughed, "Oh, that's true, but does being a Pokémon trainer mean leaving their home? Eventually yes, but Ash won't be leaving for some time yet as you have to be at least ten years old in order to compete in the Pokémon league in the first place."

Ash's eyes were nearly popping out of their skull at hearing this. Riolu was looking at the expression with some amusement and Delia was slowly thinking over professor Oak's arguments, "That still means that he doesn't have a Pokémon of his own. And I find it highly unlikely that you will give him a starter right now for that single purpose if you aren't going to give the other children like your grandson one."

Oak leaned back into his chair, "Oh, I am not planning to give Ash a starter as he already has one."

That comment made Ash's, Delia's and Riolu's eyes widen to varying degrees. It was Ash who responded first, "You're talking about Riolu aren't you?!"

Oak nodded, "Yes, is there a problem with that? I mean, it's obvious that you two like each other already and that you two would work well together. Riolu doesn't have a home of his own and bringing him back to the Sinnoh region would be nearly useless since we don't know where Riolu's and Lucario's make their home in that region in the first place."

_"I'll do it."_ Riolu said happily making the humans in the room look at him, _"I would love to be your starter Ash. You are obviously a good person and I like you so why not? I cannot wait for when we go on our journey."_ Riolu spook the next words in a bit lower tone of voice, _"If you will have me of course."_

Everything was going _way _to fast for Ash but he was none to less happy if a little overwhelmed, "Of course, I would love to have an awesome Pokémon like you as my starter Riolu!"

Riolu smiled widely and climbed up Ash's chest and hugged him around the neck, _"Thank you."_ He said softly.

Ash smiled and petted him lightly on the head, "No, thank you."

Oak and Delia smiled at them, "As touching as this is you still haven't tried out your new Pokédex, Ash." Oak said.

Ash looked momentarily confused before it dawned on him, "Oh, right." He placed Riolu back down in his lap and picked up the Pokédex. He trained it on Riolu and it activated with a beep.

"Riolu. The Emanation Pokémon. Its body is lithe yet powerful. It can crest three mountains and cross two canyons in one night. Riolu are sensitive to a special type of energy called Aura. It is this ability that allows them to sense the emotions of beings around them. Riolu's evolved form, Lucario, can use these waves to attack, or study these waves to predict the movements of their opponents, and use them to track anyone. However, Riolu does not have the ability to fully use these powers, although it can still emanate these waves to communicate and sense them - albeit only in 'ripples' as opposed to the 'waves' of energy its evolution can sense and guide." Ash's eyes were almost popping out of his head in awe and Riolu had puffed out his chest in pride. Delia and Oak looked on in amusement. The little machine wasn't done yet though, "This Riolu is male and has the ability Inner Focus. It currently knows how to use the attacks, Force Palm, Quick Attack, Foresight and Endure. Note: This Riolu possesses the hidden ability Prankster."

The pure Fighting-Type Pokémon in the room was practically glowing with pride while everyone in the room was staring at him. Oak whistled, "That is an impressive move and ability set for a recently hatched Pokémon." He admitted.

_"Thanks."_ Riolu replied smugly.

Ash chuckled and patted Riolu on the head. Oak reached into his lab coats chest pocket and took out six Pokéballs and handed them to Ash, "Here, you will need these if you want to be a trainer, and to make your partnership with Riolu official of course."

Ash nodded and stowed away five of the six Pokéballs. He held the last Pokéball out to Riolu. Riolu smiled and pushed the button in the centre of Pokéball with his paw. The Pokéball popped open and a red beam of light emerged from the ball and made contact made Riolu. Riolu was sucked into the ball and the Pokéball snapped shut with a click. Signifying that Riolu had been captured. It was evident that Riolu had _not_ tried to struggle against the Pokéball.

Smiling, Ash opened the Pokéball and released Riolu. Riolu appeared back into his lap and looked disoriented, _"That was weird. I don't really like being in there." _Riolu admitted.

Ash smiled, "You can stay outside your ball at all times if you want."

Riolu smiled back at him, _"Really? Thanks Ash!"_

Oak clapped his hands in order to get everyone's attention back on him. He smiled, "Now that has been handled, why don't we register Ash as a trainer now, and then you can go on doing what you were planning on doing the rest of the day."

Oak beckoned for Ash to hand him the Pokédex. Ash leaned over the table, holding Riolu to his chest so that he didn't fall from his lap, and gave the professor the red coloured machine, "All right then. Let see." Oak muttered as he pushed on a couple of buttons and inserted Ash's information into the device.

"There, all done." He said as he handed the Pokédex back to Ash. The boy quickly pocketed the device. Delia swiftly spook up, "Thanks for your help professor but we have to be leaving now."

Oak nodded his acknowledgement. He stood up and guided the mother and the new trainer with Riolu riding on his shoulder to the front door. He swiftly opened the door and beckoned them outside, "I hope to see you three again soon." He said as he let them out.

Delia giggled, "Of course. We will come to visit next week again if Ashy wants too."

Ash smiled, "That would be awesome mom."

Oak laughed, "Till next week than." He said and watched the three off as they left his Ranch. He smiled and waved at them until they were out of sight. Grinning, he closed the door and went back to his lab.

On the road back home Ash and Riolu were talking to each other through their mind and Aura respectively while Delia was looking at them both fondly.

Ash's didn't now it yet, but his road to become a Pokémon Master had just taken it's first big step forwards.

* * *

**A/N: I am so sorry that this update took so long but I have been having problems at School that took all my time and left me no free time for writing. I Hope this chapter makes up for it.**

**Your dearest,**

**Theblazinghope2235. **


	3. Chapter 3: The First Steps

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

_"Telepathy"_

* * *

Ash clapped his hands and smiled widely at Riolu who was looking back at him with a prideful look in his eyes, "I knew you would pack a punch Riolu." Ash started, "But this is something else!"

All around the duo the scene was one of utter destruction. Boulders twice the size of Riolu had been smashed to pieces and long trenches and a few craters were carved into the previous undisturbed soil.

The cause of the scene was a simple one. Ash, wanting to know how powerful Riolu's attacks were had taken his starter to the northern edge of town were almost nobody came. Since the soil there was infertile no one had chosen to build a house there and all the Pokémon shunned the place out of habit, similarly to their human counter parts.

The only thing there was mud and boulders which suited Ash's needs just fine. The boulders were a perfect target for Riolu to test his Force Palm on, clear from the fact that he smashed them all to pieces with one blow and the long stretches of clear earth were perfect for Ash to see how fast Riolu's Quick-Attack was. This had made the trenches in the earth. The craters had been made when Riolu had smashed all the boulders in the area to pieces which had made him switch to striking the ground with his Force Palm instead.

Ash had been blown away by Riolu's power. Even Riolu himself was surprised and shocked at how powerful his attacks were! He wasn't even tiered yet and he had destroyed nearly everything around him!

Riolu replied smugly, _"Say it! I am awesome aren't I."_

Ash laughed, "Of course you are awesome! You are _my_ starter after all!"

Riolu pouted, _"Your just saying that to make yourself feel better. The praise should be for me! Not you!"_

Ash laughed and beckoned for Riolu to come to him. Riolu sprinted at him, jumped and perched himself with practiced ease on Ash's shoulder. It really was something special considering the fact that he had only been with Ash for one full day, "Oh, all right then. Riolu, you are awesome."

Riolu puffed out his chest in a humorous display of pride which made Ash laugh. Riolu looked confused at Ash's reaction.

Ash calmed himself down and grinned as he started making his way to Route 1, _"Where are we going?" _Riolu asked. He could read Ash's mind to find out for himself, but he had promised his trainer to never read his mind again without his consent.

Ash answered distractedly, "To Route 1. Now that I know how strong you really are I want to try my hand on capturing some more Pokémon. With a little luck we might run into another Pokémon trainer who would want to battle! I'm so pumped!" Ash said excitedly.

Riolu chuckled at his trainers excitement and relaxed on Ash's shoulder. He sure had a peculiar trainer as partner.

It didn't take long for Ash to reach Route 1. It was after all just outside his hometown. He looked around the area and noted that no Pokémon were visible at the moment. Route 1 looked very peaceful. It was a twisting path that was surrounded by lush grass, some patches of grass even grew to his midriff, and the occasional boulder. Further of from the path, past the grass, he could see trees framing the entire road and he could hear a stream running in the distance. It was a beautiful place.

Ash had never been here before since it was dangerous for people to go into the wilds without having Pokémon of their own to protect them. As such, his mother had never allowed Ash to go into the wilds without her present and since she had never left Pallet Town long enough to take Ash with her on the rare occasion she left Pallet Town Ash had never even had the need to leave Pallet Town. As such, Ash had never left his hometowns borders.

Ash started walking down the path with Riolu perched on his shoulder. Both were quiet as they searched all around them for Pokémon that were worth capturing.

Luckily they didn't need to wait long. Ten minutes later Ash had walked a good distance and was starting to get annoyed. His annoyance disappeared when he heard the grass to his left rustle. Ash turned to face the sound and Riolu jumped from his shoulder. Riolu landed in front of him in a battle ready stance. Two seconds later a Rattata came scampering out of the grass with it's eyes closed. It seemed to be sniffing for something, probably food and it was completely ignoring Riolu and Ash.

Ash grinned and took out his Pokédex. He trained it at the Rattata and let the machine do it's magic, "Rattata, the Rat Pokémon. They have sharp fangs that can gnaw on almost anything. Despite having such a fierce appearance, however, Rattata lives peacefully with the Pidgey."

Ash stowed the Pokédex back into his pocket and trained his eyes on the distracted Rattata, "I don't think that Rattata is a Pokémon suited for my future battling style, Riolu." He muttered lowly so that only he and Riolu could hear it, "But it will be a good experience to have our first real battle, right now. Are you ready, Riolu?"

Riolu nodded and tensed himself for action. Ash started quickly, "Riolu, use Quick-Attack." He ordered. Riolu nodded and shot of at blistering speeds at Rattata with a white trail of light following close behind him. Rattata had heard Ash's order and had focused it's attention on them. Unfortunately for the rat like Pokémon it was already to late as Riolu was approaching to fast for it to dodge the attack. Riolu slammed into the considerably smaller Rattata and sent it flying into the trunk of a nearby tree.

"Don't let up Riolu! Close the distance with Quick-Attack and finish it with Force Palm!" Ash shouted. Riolu nodded and shot of fast enough to be almost invisible to the naked eye. Riolu's palm was wide open and started to shine a bright white as he prepared to finish Rattata of.

Rattata had other ideas, though. It quickly climbed back on it's feet and shot of to the side with a Quick-Attack of it's own, making Riolu miss it's intended target and blow the bark of the tree he had hit instead. Rattata quickly turned on it's heels and sped back to Riolu. Riolu turned to the direction that Rattata had shot off into only to see the rat speeding at him, "Hold your ground and block the attack Riolu! Then finish it with Force Palm!" Ash ordered quickly. Riolu nodded, dug his heels firmly in the ground and crossed his arms in front of him in an X-formation.

Rattata slammed into Riolu with enough force to knock the wind out of him despite the block. Nevertheless he held his ground and was only pushed back a couple of inches. Riolu's right palm started to shine brightly again as he powered up his Force Palm. Rattata started falling back down the ground as the last bit of energy he had used in his Quick-Attack tapered of. Before he reached the ground, though, Riolu's Force Palm slammed into it's back and slammed the Rattata with enough force into the soil the crater it. Riolu jumped back as a dust cloud made by his attack obscured his opponent from sight. Both Ash and Riolu relaxed when the dust cloud settled to reveal a outcold Rattata with swirls for eyes. The super-effective attack had knocked Rattata out before he even had hit the ground.

Ash smiled and walked up to Riolu, "That was great Riolu. I knew you would be an awesome fighter." Ash praised his starter. Riolu grinned and jumped back onto Ash's shoulder.

Ash looked back at Rattata and looked him over, _'Hmm...the worst injury that Rattata has is the bruise on his back. He will be back to normal in a day or two and he will still be able to function normally without issue anyway in the mean time. He doesn't need help' _Ash nodded, turned on his heel, and left the scene.

Ash continued his journey down Route 1. On the way he encountered and fought a couple more wild Pokémon with Riolu. Just a couple of Rattata and your occasional Pidgey but nothing really worth capturing. He also didn't meet any other trainers, which disappointed him a bit. He really wanted to have his first real battle against another trainer soon.

Ash stopped walking after a good hour and a half since he fought his first wild Pokémon. He could see Viridian City looming in the distance. Sighing, the seven-year old trainer turned on his heels and started making his way back home.

Ten minutes later though he stopped walking again as he spotted a Pidgey roosting overhead in a tree branch. Riolu, having spotted the Pidgey himself and knowing what his trainer wanted jumped from Ash's shoulder and made himself ready for battle.

The Pidgey had spotted them almost immediately and quickly realized from Riolu's wary stance that they meant to fight and maybe capture her. The Pidgey immediately jumped from her perch and tried to flee from the impending battle by flying away as fast as possible.

Ash wouldn't allow her to flee, though, "Quickly, cut that Pidgey of with Quick-Attack!" Riolu nodded and shot forward with a white trail of energy behind him. He jumped and launched himself of off a low hanging branch. Allowing him to soar above the airborne Pidgey. Pidgey turned around and was confused when she didn't see the attacking Pokémon anymore. Hearing the tell-tale sound of whipping air made Pidgey look up. She was shocked to see Riolu plummeting to her with his Quick-attack speeding up his descent. Riolu slammed into Pidgey's back. Pidgey lost her balance and started plummeting out of control to the ground. Riolu meanwhile righted himself and landed firmly on his two feet. Pidgey managed to gain control of her descent only a few meters from the ground, making a dust cloud, and landed safely on the ground.

Ash quickly caught up with the two Pokémon and continued the battle, "Riolu, get in close and use Force Palm!"

Riolu complied immediately and sped forwards. His right palm raised and shining brightly.

Pidgey quickly faced her opponent as it became evident to her that she wouldn't be able to flee from his battle. She immediately took to the air when she spotted Riolu approaching her with his palm raised for a Force Palm.

Riolu changed his course and sped to a nearby tree. He jumped onto the trunk of the tree and used his speed to launch him up to the airborne Pidgey. Pidgey saw this and spread her wings wide and flapped them wildly at Riolu as she used Gust. Riolu took the super-effective attack head on and was knocked back down to the ground. He nevertheless righted himself and landed in a crouch on the ground. He was panting lightly from the experience.

Pidgey quickly followed up on her initial attack and flew at Riolu with blistering speeds as she used Quick Attack. Her wings were tucked in tight to her body to reduce wind resistance.

Ash reacted immediately, "Riolu, dodge at the last second and then knock that Pidgey down with Force Palm!" Riolu nodded. His palm started to shine brightly and he prepared himself to dodge.

Pidgey, having heard Ash's command waited till the final moment and suddenly increased her speed as she was only a second away from Riolu hoping that the increase in speed would throw Riolu of. Unluckily fer her, Riolu had been expecting this and sidestepped her attack at the last moment, managing to dodge the attack nonetheless and slammed his Force Palm into Pidgey's side as she sped by him. The attack did regular damage since Pidgey is a Normal and Flying-Type. She shot to the ground at an angle and skidded along the soil as the force of the blow carried her away from Riolu.

"Now use Quick-Attack!" Ash ordered immediately. Riolu complied without hesitation and disappeared in a blur of speed. Pidgey was unable to recover fast enough. Riolu slammed into her side and sent her flying again. Unfortunately, the blow had also knocked her from the ground again and she used this to her advantage. She spread her wings wide and took control of her momentum and immediately rushed back to the sky, out of Riolu's attack range.

Pidgey narrowed her eyes and sped forwards with another Quick-Attack, seeking to ram Riolu head on. Ash grinned, "Wait for it and then use Force Palm!" Riolu nodded and tensed to dodge.

Pidgey was gliding close to the ground. When Pidgey was only a meter away from Riolu she spread her wings wide and stopped her forwards momentum immediately, hovering in the air in front of Riolu. Her speed nonetheless created a dust cloud that obscured her from sight. Suprising both Ash and Riolu. Suddenly two very sharp white blades of wind appeared from the dust cloud. Riolu was way to close to dodge and the cutting wind blades slammed into him and sent him flying back. He landed in front of the shocked Ash's feet, _'Did that Pidgey just use Air Slash.' _Ash thought, shocked.

Riolu nodded and dragged himself up right, _"Yes, she did. It really surprised me since Pidgey's don't learn that attack until they are fully evolved and even then only the strongest Pidgeot's are able to learn that attack. She must have inherited it from one of her parents."_

Ash grinned, "In that case she is worth capturing. Are you ready to continue, Riolu?" He asked his starter as he took in Riolu's banged up state. He had a couple of bruises her and there and two pretty deep scratches on his chest from the Air Slash. He was also panting quite heavily. All the battle's today must have tiered him out.

Riolu took a deep breath and steeled himself, _"I am always ready Ash!"_

Ash nodded, "All right. But don't over do it Riolu! If you are too tiered to continue to battle then tell me, okay!" Riolu nodded his acceptance.

Pidgey, trying to press her advantage shot forwards again with another Quick-Attack and rapidly closed the distance between her and Riolu. Riolu tensed and Ash narrowed his eyes. Waiting for the right moment to strike. That moment came as Pidgey was only a meter away from Riolu again. Just as Ash had predicted, Pidgey used the same manoeuver as before and spread her wings wide to make her stop immediately and to create a dust cloud that obscured her from sight, "Force Palm, now!" Ash ordered and Riolu sprang forwards immediately. Pidgey's manoeuver allowed her to stop on a dime but also made it impossible for her to dodge an attack at such a close range. The dust cloud she automatically made with the manuever protected her somewhat but if her opponent had seen it before then they would be able to predict where she was in the dust cloud. Riolu's glowing palm entered the dust cloud and made thudding sound as he made contact with Pidgey's. The energy of Force Palm detonated outwards, sending her flying back. She slammed into a tree with her wings spread wide. She fell to the ground and she didn't get up. Her eyes turned to swirls as she fell unconscious.

Ash quickly grabbed a Pokéball from his pocket, "Your mine, Pidgey!" He threw the Pokéball at the knocked out cold Pidgey. The device made contact with Pidgey and clicked open. Pidgey turned into red energy and was sucked into the Pokéball. The Pokéball fell with a thud in the soft grass. It rocked back and forth, the button on it shining bright red. Three shacks and five seconds later the Pokéball stopped shaking and made a clicking sound as Pidgey was captured.

Ash pumped his fist, "All right! I captured my first wild Pokémon!" He walked up to the Pokéball and snatched it up from the ground. He turned to Riolu and grinned at him. Riolu, despite his exhaustion, grinned back at Ash, "Let me rephrase that. _We _captured _our _first new partner!"

Riolu laughed and jumped onto Ash's shoulder, _"You got that right partner!"_

Ash smiled at his starter. His expression turned concerned, though, as he got a better look at Riolu's injuries, "Are you all right? You injuries look pretty bad."

Riolu winced at the aches that flared up as the adrenaline from the fight faded from his system, _"I'm fine. Just a little banged up. Nothing a good nights rest won't fix. I would appreciate it if you didn't attack more wild Pokémon on our way back to Pallet Town, though. I'm so tiered. I don't think I would last long in another fight." _

Ash nodded, "Of course." He said immediately, "Let's go home."

* * *

Two hours later we find Ash Ketchum arriving at professor Oak's lab. He had initially planned to go home immediately but he had remembered that professor Oak's Ranch doubled as a Pokémon Center if necessary and considering his Pokémon's condition it wouldn't be a bad idea to get some healing. It had all the machine's and medicine's that Pokémon needed to make a swift recovery. The only thing it lacked to be a real Pokémon Center was a Nurse Joy and a Chansey.

Ash rang the doorbell. He had to wait a minute before professor Oak came and opened the door. The elderly man was about to greet Ash until he noticed Riolu's banged up state. He sighed, "Come on in. I can see that Riolu needs some healing."

Ash nodded and stepped inside. Professor Oak shut the door and started leading Ash to the back of the Ranch. They came into a sterile room that smelled of disinfecting sprays. Oak beckoned for Ash to follow him to the corner of the room were a weird machine stood. It was one of those healing machine's that they used in Pokémon Centers, "Come here Ash and set Riolu down here." Oak said as he gestured to one of the black pockets in the machine.

Ash approached the machine and looked at it curiously. He had heard of them before but he never seen one before. Riolu jumped from Ash's shoulder into the black pocket Oak had indicated. Professor Oak attached some wires to Riolu who fidgeted a bit from the sensation. Before Oak could continue Ash stopped him, "Wait! I caught a Pidgey today that also needs treatment." Ash took out Pidgey's Pokéball and handed it to the Professor.

Oak smiled and laid the Pokéball into another black pocket besides Riolu and attached wires to the device, "Good job Ash. Most trainers screw up on their first time they try to catch a Pokémon. Myself included." Oak said a bit sheepishly as he turned on the healing machine.

Ash grinned at the praise and watched as the healing process started. Riolu and Pidgey's Pokéball started to shine bright white as the healing energies coursed to their bodies. A couple of seconds later the machine stopped and made a loud noise to signify that it was done. Riolu and Pidgey's Pokéball had stopped glowing. Riolu grinned. He looked _and _felt as good as new.

Oak released the wires from Riolu who immediately jumped back to Ash's shoulder. He then took Pidgey's Pokéball from the machine and handed it back to Ash. Ash pocketed the Pokéball.

Oak smiled, "There! They are both now as good as new! I would recommend though not go into wilds anymore today Ash. While Riolu and Pidgey are completely healed now they are still exhausted from their fight." Ash nodded. Seeing this Oak continued, "Good, good! I have to go back to my lab now Ash. I'm on the cusps of an important discovery and I need to get back to work now."

Ash frowned. He had wanted to stay a bit longer but that wasn't possible it seemed. He nodded, "I will be leaving then. See you soon professor Oak!" He said and turned to leave.

"See you soon Ash!" Oak called out after him as he turned to make his way back to his lab.

* * *

Ash was now in his homes backyard. He had returned home an hour earlier just in time for dinner. He had told his mother everything about his day. To testing Riolu's attacks, to battling the wild Pokémon on Route 1 and his very first capture of a wild Pokémon. His mother had listened with rapt attention to his entire story and had congratulated him on his first ever capture.

After that they had cleaned up together. Shortly there after his mother had gone to the basement to do the laundry. Leaving Ash alone, giving him the perfect opportunity to learn more about Pidgey, and to form a partnership with her.

Taking a deep breath Ash took out Pidgey's Pokéball and released her from the device, "Come on out, Pidgey!" Pidgey appeared in front of him as she materialized in a red beam if light. She clicked her beak and flapped her wings a bit but didn't take of which Ash had feared for. She spotted him and looked her new trainer over. Ash knew he had to take charge if he wanted respect from his Pokémon, "I know that you are probably not happy about the fact that I captured you. But I need all the help I can get to make my dreams a reality. That's why we!" Ash gestured to himself, Riolu and Pidgey, "Will be training, training and training until we are the very best!" Ash said in conviction. He breathed a sigh of relieve when he saw a gleam in Pidgey's eyes at the mention of training. While it was evident that Pidgey didn't seek out fights, she did seek to become stronger.

Ash grinned, "Let's see what you can do." He muttered as he took out his Pokédex and trained it at Pidgey, who cocked her head and looked curiously at the machine, "Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. It is a docile Pokémon, and generally prefers to flee from it's enemies rather than to fight them. Pidgey's small size permits it to hide easily in long grass, where it is typically found foraging for small insects. It is known to flush out potential prey from long grass by flapping its wings rapidly. This maneuver also serves to protect Pidgey from enemies. If disturbed, a Pidgey is capable of creating a blinding cloud of dust, allowing it make it's escape. This evasive technique can also be applied to battles." The red machine supplied. Ash took a moment to process that. The Pokédex continued, "This Pidgey is Female and has the ability Keen Eye. It currently knows how to use the attacks, Tackle, Quick-Attack, Gust, Sand-Attack and Air slash. Note: Air slash is hereditary and is very rare for one of the Pidgey evolution line to posses before they have been fully evolved. Note: This Pidgey possesses the Hidden Ability Big Pecks."

Ash whistled in awe, "Wow, impressive Pidgey! I knew you would be a handy asset to my dreams." Pidgey bowed her head and smiled at the praise of her trainer, "Now that is out of the way you can go and relax the rest of the day. Tomorrow, when we are all well rested we will start training, okay." Pidgey nodded and flew to a nearby tree in the backyard. She landed on a low hanging branch, settled down and started roosting.

Riolu meanwhile jumped from his shoulder with a big leap and joined Pidgey on the branch, slightly startling her. It was not long before they were talking to each other in a relaxed manner.

Ash smiled as he watched his Pokémon bond from afar.

* * *

The next day we find Ash, the aspiring trainer with Riolu riding on his shoulder in a park at the centre of Pallet Town. The reason why he was here was a simple one. His backyard was to small for his Pokémon to train in and he didn't want to go out into the wilds to find a private spot to train. That was just asking for trouble. He had briefly contemplated going back to the fields north of town were he had tested Riolu's moves the day before but he quickly dismissed that idea. The park would work just as well and it was closer to his house.

Riolu jumped from his shoulder and turned to face him, standing at the attention. Ash took out a Pokéball and released Pidgey. Pidgey flapped her wings for a bit and landed beside Riolu, waiting for her trainers orders.

Ash nodded, "Our training will consist out of four parts. One: Power. Two: Speed. Three: Endurance and Four: Evasive actions. Besides knowing handy attacks, tactics and making use of a Pokémon's natural special abilities these four things decide the outcome of _any _match."

Both Riolu and Pidgey nodded. Seeing this Ash swiftly continued, "Good. First we will train in power. We will do this by using these." Ash said as he gestured to his left. Riolu and Pidgey looked to their right. Their eyes widened at seeing something they had missed earlier.

Not to far from them lay twelve very large square blocks of concrete. They laid side by side, almost stretching the entire width of the clearing they were in, "Suprised?" Ash started, "These concrete blocks were supposed to be used to build the foundation for the store across the street but the manufacture workers had misread the order and had made twelve blocks to many. Since the owner of the new store wouldn't pay for them and the company that had made them didn't want to waste extra money on getting the blocks shipped back they just dumped them here. Almost no one comes to this part of the park so no one's bothered of the fact that these blocks are here. For us, they are a boon for our training."

Riolu and Pidgey blinked when they heard this, _"How come?" _Riolu asked. Pidgey cocked her head to the side and waited for Ash to answer.

Ash shrugged, "Simple, these are the perfect targets to test your strength on. These reinforced blocks of concrete are very sturdy and extremely hard to destroy. You two will be practicing your attacks on these until you are able to destroy these blocks in one blow."

Pidgey looked daunted at the prospect of such a hard task but quickly gathered her determination to do the job her trainer had set for her. Riolu looked almost bored, _"That doesn't sound so hard. Did you forget that I smashed those boulders yesterday, with ease I might add."_

Ash chuckled, "Then why not show us how strong you are Riolu." He gestured to the reinforced concrete blocks, "If you really are as strong as you say you are then you should be able to smash these blocks to pieces with with little trouble."

Riolu smirked and shot of with blistering speeds to the nearest concrete block, his speed enhanced by a Quick-Attack. His palm started to shine brightly as he powered up his Force Palm. He reached to concrete block in less than a second and brought his Force Palm enhanced palm down death center of the concrete block with all his might.

The stone shuddered from the impact and a few hairline fractures opened up in the stone but Riolu's attack did not do any significant damage.

Riolu nearly fell back on his ass in shock. He couldn't believe it! He had used his best Force Palm coupled with the extra strength that came with the speed added by his Quick-Attack and yet he had done almost no visible damage to the concrete block!

Ash laughed, "Riolu, you might be able to smash boulders to pieces with ease but they are just boulders. They all have cracks and weak spots in them thanks to the fact that they have been exposed to the weather for who knows how long!" Ash said, "These reinforced concrete blocks however have only been here a year or two and they were designed to last for years, exposed to the elements or not."

Riolu growled and powered up another Force Palm, _"Then I will just have to become stronger now don't I!" _Riolu slammed his Force Palm into the concrete block once again with all his might. Again, he failed to do any visible damage. Riolu growled louder.

"Now, that's the spirit." Ash said in amusement, "Come here Riolu. I still need to explain the other exercises."

Riolu shot one last hateful look at the concrete block. He could almost hear it mocking him. He growled and stalked back towards Ash and took his spot besides Pidgey with an indignant look on him. This caused Ash and Pidgey to burst out laughing. Which in turn caused Riolu to pout.

Ash stopped laughing and wiped away a tear, "Oh, I needed that." He took a deep breath, "Okay, continuing. For training speed, speed _without _the boast of a Quick-Attack." He clarified as he stared pointedly at both his Pokémon, "We will be holding matches. You will both run and fly as fast as possible around this clearing three times. the goal is to reach the finish before the other." Ash explained and then smiled, "The one who wins get's this." Ash took out a Pokétreat. Both Riolu's and Pidgey's eyes went round. They had both gotten one from Ash the day before and they were immediately hooked on it. Ash smirked, "I take it that you will both try your very best." Riolu and Pidgy nodded in determination...and a little hunger.

Ash nodded back, "All right then. Next, Endurance and Evasive actions. These two are easy since we will be doing these two at the same time." Both Riolu and Pidgey blinked. Both were wondering what their trainer had in mind, "I'll keep it simple. You two will be battling each other every day at least once! I'll not be directing you both during these battles. By doing this you will be training your endurance in mid battle and learning how to dodge attacks effectively. We'll be doing these exercises as many times a day as we can for five days of the week." Ash raised his voice a bit, "Are you ready for the hardest training of your life!"

Riolu and Pidgey nodded. Both looking ready for anything. Ash smiled at them, "Get ready. I'll not be pulling any punches in your training."

* * *

**A/N: Wheww. That was fast wasn't it. I don't know how I managed to write an entire chapter in three days time but I am not complaining. I just felt inspired. I hope you guys liked this chapter. And just to be clear, there is no planned Shipping yet for this story. **

**Your dearest,**

**Theblazinghope2235. **


	4. Chapter 4: Of Battle and Friendship's

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

_"Telepathy"_

* * *

Ash smirked as he watched Riolu and Pidgey square of against each other for the third time today.

Riolu was jumping from tree to tree, using his inborn speed, increased by heavy training to launch him after his elusive quarry. Said elusive opponent flapped her wings as she acrobaticily weaved around Riolu's nearly perfectly executed attacks.

It had been two months ever since he had captured Pidgey and since he had started training his Pokémon with his extensive training regiment. Ash could comfortably say that his Pokémon had grown considerably in every single asset that he had set out to train in.

Their strength, speed, evasion skills and endurance had sky rocketed thanks to the two months of harsh training that they had endured. He was confident that there was no one his age that would train their Pokémon so thoroughly as he did.

Ash focused his attention back on his embattled Pokémon and smirked as a tense and exciting feeling washed over the clearing. His smirk widened. This was going to be good!

Pidgey flapped her wings and ascended quickly, all the while dodging all of Riolu's attempts to strike her down with his Quick-Attack and Force Palm combo as he rebounded himself constantly from the surrounding trees.

Pidgey stopped ascending when she was sure that she was high enough that Riolu would not be able to reach her even with his huge jumping range. Riolu flew under her and almost reached the avian Pokémon regardless but wasn't able to jump high enough and started plummeting back down to earth. Pidgey smirked as much as her beak allowed her to and counter striked at Riolu with a Quick-Attack. She tucked her wings in and dive bombed after Riolu, the Quick-Attack speeding her up to nearly blinding levels.

Riolu waited till the final moment and twisted in midair at the last second. Pidgey flew by him close enough so that the on rush of air created by her attack blew them apart from each other. Riolu landed firmly on the ground and Pidgey used her enhanced speed to get out of Riolu's attack range by ascending back high up in the air.

Riolu and Pidgey narrowed their eyes at each other and smirked at the other. Riolu's palm started to glow bright white as Pidgey tucked in her wings. Pidgey dived at Riolu with a Quick-Attack, a white trail of light following her and Riolu rushed forwards to meet Pidgey head on with his Force Palm. Pidgey sped up her speed and Riolu jumped to meet her head on. Riolu's empowered palm struck Pidgey's Quick-Attack enhanced body. The two halted each others movement instantly and they were briefly visible, straining to push the other back. A blinding white light started to shine in between them as the energy from their respective attacks interacted with each other. Suddenly, the energy swelled in size and turned into a bright wave of light and energy, completely hiding Riolu and Pidgey from sight. Riolu was flung back, his feet making a trench in the soil as he skidded backwards and Pidgey was flung back into the air as the energy blast flung her back as well.

Riolu and Pidgey righted themselves and panted tiredly. Ash started clapping, startling both Pokémon. Ash smiled widely at them, "That's enough! We are done training for today!" Riolu and Pidgey relaxed. Pidgey flew down and landed on Ash's out stretched arm and Riolu jumped onto Ash's shoulder.

Ash laughed, "If you two continue growing at the rate you are you two might just out grow my training exercises." Both Riolu and Pidgey smirked and bowed their heads at their trainers praise.

Ash smiled, "It has been a long day. Let's get you both checked up at professor Oak's Ranch and then we will go home." Both his Pokémon nodded and settled in as Ash started making his way from the park to professor Oak's ranche.

* * *

Half an hour later we find Ash walking home from Oak's lab. Riolu was as usual riding on his shoulder and Pidgey was flying besides him for a change. All the while he was talking with Riolu and Pidgey through Riolu's Aura while Riolu translated for Pidgey. Suddenly, a question came to Ash's mind.

"Hey, Riolu." Ash started. Riolu turned to look at him with a raised brow, "You can talk to me through your Aura, right?" Riolu nodded, "And you can also talk to Pokémon through your Aura, right?" Riolu nodded again and wondered where Ash was going with this, "Do you think that I can learn to do that also? I mean, you did say that _all _living being's have Aura, right? If so, there might be a chance that I can learn to talk to Pokémon through Aura as well."

Riolu paused as Ash's reasoning flew through his mind, _"That might be possible." _Riolu said slowly, _"But I have no idea if it is even possible for someone to_ learn_ how to use Aura, let alone a human. I just _know_ instinctively how to manipulate my Aura. I never needed to _learn_ how to do it, Ash." _Riolu said heavily before he suddenly smiled, "_But then again, I don't know if it's impossible either." _Riolu and Ash grinned at the same time, _"So, Ash."_ Riolu said airily._"It seems that I'll be training you in the use of Aura. How ironic considering you are the trainer and I'm the Pokémon..."_

Ash laughed, "It is, isn't it." Ash commented, "I doubt that any other Pokémon trainer has ever been in this kind of situation before."

Riolu nodded. All the while, Pidgey was listening to their conversation in interest, _'It would be awesome.' _She thought, _'If Ash could talk freely to me.'_

Ash smiled, "It would be awesome if I could learn to." Ash said, unknowingly echoing Pidgey's thoughts, "I'd be able to talk to every Pokémon I'll ever meet! It would be a great boon for my dream."

Riolu grinned and nodded, "True." He admitted. The group fell silent as they saw someone approaching from down the road. Half a minute later the figure came close enough to be seen clearly. It was a young boy, a couple of years older then Ash himself. He had bright spiky blond hair, faintly similar to Gary, professor Oak's grandson's hair. His bright and kind green eyes where framed by a set of rounded glasses. His skin was pale and he was wearing black sneakers, black trousers, an open black jacket with a white undershirt. Ash was most intrigued though by the white colored necklace with a gold pendant hanging around the blond's neck.

As the boy came closer his eyes flickered to Pidgey who was flying close by Ash. His eyes widened, though, when he spotted Riolu riding on Ash's shoulder, a Pokémon he didn't recognize.

The boy approached Ash and looked pointedly at Riolu for a moment. Ash paused, "Are you a trainer?" The boy asked softly. Ash nodded. The boy raised one of his golden eyebrows, "Aren't you a bit young to be a trainer? How old are you anyway?"

Ash smiled and scratched Riolu under the chin. Riolu yipped in contentment, "Well, I'm a bit young to be a trainer." Ash admitted, "But professor Oak allowed me to become a trainer early. I'm seven years old and my name is Ash by the way."

The boy's other eyebrow raised to meet the other, "Only seven years old and already a trainer. You must be a spacial case." The boy said in his soft voice. He chuckled, "Where are my manners. My name is Richard." Richard introduced himself and inclined his head at Ash, "I find myself curious, though. Why were you allowed to become a Pokémon trainer so early?"

Ash smiled, "Well, I found a Pokémon egg a couple of months ago. Riolu's egg actually." Ash said, to which Richard's eyes took on a surprised look at hearing Riolu's name, "I took care of Riolu's egg for a time until he hatched. Professor Oak found it fitting for Riolu to become my Pokémon since I took care of him. Luckily for me, Riolu agreed. Professor Oak registered me as a Pokémon trainer shortly after."

Richard nodded, "Interesting." He commented. His eyes strained back towards Riolu, "You're so lucky to have such a rare Pokémon as a Riolu as your starter, Ash. Not many people can go around saying that the have _seen _a Riolu. Let alone capture one."

Riolu puffed out his chest in pride and Ash blushed, "Thanks." Ash said.

Richard smiled as an idea came to him, "Hey, Ash. What about a battle? It would be an interesting experience to battle you."

Ash paused, before a fierce grin appeared on his face, "I would love to!" Ash said excitedly. He frowned suddenly, "Can we hold the battle tomorrow. We just finished training and Riolu and Pidgey aren't rested enough for a battle so soon."

Richard paused in thought for a second, then nodded, "Sure, I am staying in Pallet Town for a couple of days anyway. How about tomorrow morning at ten Am, at the park?" He suggested.

Ash smiled, "Sure, that's perfect." Ash cocked his head to the side, "Have you been a trainer for a long time?"

Richard shook his head and brushed back his black jacket, revealing two Pokéballs on his belt, "No, I have only been a trainer for about four months." He answered. He smiled at Ash, "I am just a rookie, just like you."

Ash smiled back at him, "That's a relieve. It would be unfair if I was fighting a more experienced trainer."

Richard chuckled and nodded in agreement, "True, that would be unfair." He admitted, "Anyway, I will be staying in Pallet Town for another two weeks. I hope that we can become great friends, Ash."

Ash's smile widened, "I hope so to." Ash blinked when he realized something, "Wait, you are leaving on your journey soon?"

Richard nodded, "Yep, I used the last couple of months to learn how I should work with my Pokémon. I think I'm ready to take on the Pokémon League challenge."

Ash's smile turned reufull, "Lucky you. I still need to wait three years before I'm even old enough to compete!"

Richard laughed, "It's not like your parents would have let you leave home at your age Ash. You're still way to young to travel on your own."

Ash pouted, but reluctantly had to agree, "Dammit." He cursed under his breath.

Richard heard him and laughed again, "I wonder what would happen if your parents would hear you say that." Ash paled at the idea. Riolu and Pidgey started laughing at the image that came to mind, "Anyway. I have to be leaving now, Ash. I need to go get some supplies for my journey. See you tomorrow, Ash."

Richard quickly took of, leaving Ash alone on the road. He smiled and continued on his way home, "I am so excited!" He said, more to himself then Riolu and Pidgey, "Our first real Pokémon battle. I can't wait!"

Both Riolu and Pidgey nodded, excitement shining brightly in their eyes, _"We can finally test the fruits of our labour." _Riolu commented. He grinned along with Ash and Pidgey, _"This is going to be so awesome!"_

* * *

The next day we find Ash and Richard facing each other in a clearing at the park. A different one then the clearing that Ash used to train in. He studied his surroundings. The entire clearing was deserted and was surrounded by thick trees and shrubbery, completely hiding the site of the impending show done between the two trainers.

Ash stood confidently, Riolu was as usual riding on his shoulders and Pidgey was in her Pokéball. Richard stood on the other end of the clearing, just as confident as Ash. Richard narrowed his eyes and studied his opponent. He wasn't going to underestimate his opponent just because he was a little kid compared to him. His experience with his two little sisters had proven to him that young children can be nasty little buggers. He also knew that he didn't have as much an advantage over his opponent as some might think. Sure, he was older, but he didn't have any more experience as a trainer then his opponent had. He could feel his excitement building at the thought of a tough challenge.

Richard smiled at Ash as he felt his excitement building, "May the best trainer win, Ash!" He called out over the field to Ash.

Ash smirked at him and started reaching for Pidgey's Pokéball, "And that will be me!"

Richard smirked right back at him and unclipped one Pokéball from his belt, "I wouldn't count on it if I were you, Ash!"

They both threw their Pokéball's at the same time. With two pops and flashes of light, Ash's Pidgey was revealed, chirping loudly and taking to the sky, ready for battle. Richard's Pokéball on the other hand, had opened up to reveal a Butterfree, who was calmly flying in front of his trainer. Ash was shocked. His first battle and he was facing a fully evolved Pokémon!

Riolu growled lowly, _"This is bad. Butterfree's might not be exceptionally powerful Pokémon, but they are annoying to deal with thanks to their psychic abilities. He would be a bad opponent for me considering that he's part Flying-type too. And on top of that he's a fully evolved Pokémon..." _Riolu trailed of in thought.

Ash quickly rallied himself and narrowed his eyes at the tough and unexpected opponent, _'How is it possible for a rookie to posses a fully evolved Pokémon? He hadn't been lying, had he?'_

Riolu had picked up Ash's thought and quickly explained, _"Don't forget that Butterfree's are Bug-type's, Ash. Bug-type's evolve quickly and your opponent has been a trainer for four months. If he captured a Caterpie early on then it would only make sense that it would have been fully evolved by now."_

Ash took out his Pokédex and pointed it at the Butterfree, "Butterfree, the Bug Pokémon. It has a superior ability to search for delicious honey from flowers. It can even search out, extract, and carry honey from flowers that are blooming over six miles from it's nest. In battle, it flaps its wings at great speed to release highly toxic dust into the air." The Pokédex said in it's mechanical voice.

Richard smirked, "I hope you are ready, Ash! I won't be pulling any punches, trust me on that!"

Ash pocketed his Pokédex and looked Richard in the eyes. He smirked, "Good, that would have made this to easy!"

Richard laughed, "Keep telling yourself that!" He took a step forwards and pointed at Pidgey, "Quickly, Butterfree! use String Shot!" Butterfree opened his mouth and shot a string of sticky substance at Pidgey with lightning speeds.

"Dodge with Quick-Attack!" Ash ordered quickly. Pidgey nodded and sped to the side with Quick-Attack, dodging the String Shot with a wide margin. Pidgey changed her direction and sped head on at Butterfree.

"Harden, and then use Confusion!" Richard ordered immediately. Butterfree's body glowed momentarily as his entire body hardened. Pidgey slammed into Butterfree's midsection with her Quick Attack, pushing Butterfree back and driving the air from his lungs. But the Harden had minimized the damage taken. Butterfree's deep red eyes shined bright blue as he used his psychic powers for his Confusion attack. A blue wave of energy spread out in every direction from Butterfree's body, catching Pidgey and carrying her away from Butterfree. Pidgey cried out in pain as the psychic powers battered her form and sent her flying.

"Don't let up Butterfree! Use String Shot!" Richard shouted. Butterfree opened his mouth and shot another string of sticky substance at Pidgey. Ash reacted quickly.

"Blow it away with Gust!" Ash shouted frantically as he watched the String Shot creep ever closer to Pidgey. Pidgey righted herself with a flap of her wings. She spread her wings wide and flapped them wildly at the incoming String Shot, creating a powerful Gust attack that blew the String Shot away. The Gust continued on and struck Butterfree directly, causing him to screech in pain as the super-effective attack hit it's mark.

"Don't give in Butterfree! Use Confusion! Knock that Pidgey down!" Richard hollered. Butterfree's eyes glowed blue once again and a blue wave of psychic energy raced from his body directly at Pidgey at astounding speeds.

"Take to the sky Pidgey!" Ash ordered immediately. Pidgey nodded and flew straight up, evading the psychic attack in the process, "Now use Gust!" He said quickly. Pidgey spread her wings wide and flapped wildly at Butterfree as she used Gust.

Richard growled when he saw that the attack was going to fast and was to spread out to dodge, "Harden!" Butterfree's body glowed briefly as his body hardened even more. The Gust attack hit dead on. The super-effective attack made Butterfree screech in pain again, but it did noticeably lesser damage then before. Ash growled when he saw this.

"Use Harden again!" Richard ordered. Once again, Butterfree's body glowed as his body hardened and his defense increased. Ash growled, if this went on then Pidgey's attacks with be almost useless on Butterfree! He needed to stop this and quick!

"Close the distance with Quick-attack and then use Gust!" Ash ordered. Pidgey nodded and tucked in her wings. She sped with blistering speeds at Butterfree, a white trial of light following in her wake.

Richard smirked, "Perfect." He muttered. He watched closely as Pidgey sped closer to Butterfree, waiting for the right moment to strike. That moment came as Pidgey was about to use Gust only a meter away from Butterfree, "Tackle, now!" Butterfree nodded and surged forwards deceptively fast. Pidgey was way to close to dodge. Butterfree rammed into her and set her flying back, "Harden, again!" He ordered immediately. Butterfree's body glowed once again as his body hardened and his defence grew even more. Richard smirked. He knew that Butterfree was now way to close to dodge the follow up attack that was sure to come from Pidgey, but he was confident that Butterfree would be able to endure it with his four times Harden enhanced defense, even if the attack was super-effective. He wasn't expecting what happened next.

"Pidgey, use Air Slash!" Ash ordered immediately, seeing the opportunity. Pidgey righted herself immediately at her trainers command and flapped both her wings once more with a much more powerful flap then normal. Two extremely sharp blades of wind were made and were launched at the way to close to dodge Butterfree. Richard watched in shock as the high level attack made contact with Butterfree, making him screech in pain louder than ever before as the sharp blades of wind cut into the soft tissue of his chest. The wind blades carried him back to his trainer. He slammed into the ground and skirted on the ground. He came to a stop beside the shocked Richard, a dust cloud hiding him from sight. Once it settled a knocked out Butterfree appeared with swirls for eyes.

Richard sighed and returned Butterfree, "You did great." He whispered to the Pokéball. He shrunk the Pokéball again and tucked it away.

Ash cheered, "That was great Pidgey! I knew you could do it!" He praised her. Pidgey panted tiredly, the battle had taken it's toll on her. She smiled nonetheless at her trainers praise. She felt proud at proving herself in front of her trainer. Her smile widened when she heard Riolu cheering along with Ash for her victory.

"That was impressive, Ash." Ash turned his attention back on Richard as he heard his praise, "I had never expected that Pidgey would know Air Slash, really impressive I must admit." The glasses wearing boy said with a tiny amount of admiration in his voice, and then he smirked, "But this battle is far from over!" He reached for his last Pokéball and held it up in front of his face, the sun light reflecting from his glasses, making the glasses flash white, "Think you can beat my starter, Ash."

Ash smirked, "I don't _think_ I can, I _know_ I can!"

Richard laughed, "Proof it then!" He said and threw the Pokéball. The Pokéball opened and revealed Richard's starter in a white flash of light.

Ash jaw dropped, along with Riolu's and Pidgey's lower beak. Richard's starter was a Charmander, but it was not an ordinary Charmander. Instead of being almost completely colored red, Richard's Charmander was coloured gold. Along with the yellow colored flame at the end of the Charmander's tail made Charmander look almost divine in a way.

Ash took out his Pokédex and trained it at the golden Charmander, "Charmander, the Fiery Pokémon. The flame that burns at the tip of its tail is an indication of it's emotions. The flame wavers when Charmander is enjoying itself. If the Pokémon becomes enraged, the flame burns fiercely."

Richard smirked, "Beautiful, isn't she?" He asked. Not really expecting an answer he continued, "Don't let her looks fool you. She is far stronger than my Butterfree."

Ash gathered himself and readied himself for battle, "It doesn't matter how much stronger she is. I am going to win this no matter what!"

Richard smiled, "Let's see if you can back up your bravado!" He said, and suddenly a steel like glint appeared in his green eyes, "Charmander use Ember!" The golden Charmander took a deep breath, opened her mouth and fired dozen upon dozen's of small fireballs at Pidgey.

"Pidgey, dive to the ground with Quick-Attack! "Pidgey nodded and shot of to the ground, a white flash of light trailing in her wake. Charmander readjusted her aim so that the fireballs now flew at ground level were Pidgey now was. Pidgey was using all her hard-earned speed to dance in between the onslaught of fireballs as she rushed at Charmander with her Quick-Attack, seeking to ram her head on.

Richard, seeing that his attack was not hitting it's mark, decided to change tactics, "Use Metal Claw!" Charmander stopped using Ember and rushed forwards, her Claws extending and started to shine a strong grey color as they took on steel like qualities. Charmander raised both her arms and swung them to meet Pidgey's Quick-Attack head on. Pidgey's Quick-Attack met Charmander's Metal Claw with a crash, both holding their ground in their struggle. Charmander smirked and poured more power into her Metal Claw and started to overwhelm Pidgey. Pidgey squawked as she was over powered and the Metal Claw struck her in the chest. Pidgey flew back in pain. Richard gave no quarter, "Quick, use Ember!" Charmander took a deep breath and fired an onslaught of fireballs at the still recovering Pidgey. The fireballs hit their mark and exploded on contact with the avian Pokémon. She didn't even have the energy to scream in pain anymore, she just collapsed out cold in the grass.

Ash numbly recalled Pidgey, "You did great, Pidgey. Have a good long rest." He whispered to the Pokéball and clipped it to his belt.

Ash was shocked at how fast the battle was over, _'That Charmander is strong...'_ Ash trailed of as a smirk formed on his face, _'That will make it all the sweeter when I defeat her.'_ Ash turned to Riolu who was still riding on his shoulder, "Are you ready, buddy?"

Riolu smirked, _"I am always ready, Ash!" _

Ash chuckled, "Riolu! I choose you!" Riolu jumped from Ash's shoulder and landed in the grass, facing his golden coloured opponent, who glared at him.

Richard smiled, "This is going to be fun." He turned serious, "Charmander, don't lose focus. That Riolu is strong! I'm sure of it!" Charmander nodded and tensed for battle.

Ash laughed, "Let start things off. Riolu! Use Force Palm!"

Richard smirked, "Ember!" He ordered. Charmander took a deep breath and spat out a torrent of fireballs at the incoming Riolu. Riolu, palm raised and shining brightly, danced through the fireballs undaunted and shot forwards, aiming to strike the golden Charmander down.

"Metal Claw!" Richard ordered quickly when he noticed that the Ember attack wasn't even coming close to hitting Riolu. Charmander cut of her Ember attack and raised her arms. Her claws lengthened and started to shine brightly as they took on steel like properties. She shot forwards, intending on meeting Riolu head on, her Metal Claw hardened claws trailing behind her.

Riolu had other idea's, though. He waited till the last moment and ducked under Charmander's Metal Claw attack. Both Richard's and Charmander's eyes widened, one in surprise and one in pain. Charmander was flung back as Riolu's Force Palm slammed into her chest and sent her flying back to her trainers feet.

Charmander quickly climbed to her feet and rubbed her chest in pain, just fast enough for Riolu's next attack, "Riolu, use Quick-Attack!" Riolu nodded at Ash's command and shot of at Charmander at near blinding speeds, to fast for the golden Charmander to dodge.

Luckily for her, Richard was prepared, "Quick, use SmokeScreen!" Charmender opened her mouth and spewed out thick black smoke that quickly enveloped her and her immediate surroundings. Both Ash's and Riolu's eyes widened at the manoeuver. Riolu frantically tried to stop himself from entering the smoke were there was a good chance an ambush had been set up, but his momentum was too much, he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop himself in time.

Luckily for him, Ash had an idea, "Riolu, jump!" He ordered quickly. Riolu smirked, getting Ash's idea and jumped. His momentum carried him over the SmokeScreen. He landed safely behind the SmokeScreen.

Well, maybe not safely, "Quick, Charmander! Use Ember!" Dozens of small fireballs came shooting out of SmokeScreen directly at Riolu who tried to dodge the attack, but the fireballs were coming to fast for him to do so. The fireballs connected all over Riolu's body, making him scream in pain and sent him sprawling into the dirt

Again, Richard gave no quarter, "Metal Claw!" Charmander shot of faster than ever before and slammed the Metal Claw into Riolu's chest who had just managed to climb back onto his feet, sending him soaring back into a tree with a dull thud as he made contact with the bark.

"Charmander! Finish it with Ember!" Charmander took another deep breath and spat out dozens upon dozens of fireballs at Riolu. Meanwhile, Riolu had climbed back onto his feet.

"Dodge with Quick-Attack!" Ash ordered frantically. Riolu sped of to the side with his enhanced speed, barely evading the Ember attack, "And now use Force Palm!" Riolu's palm started to shine brightly as he powered up his attack and he shot of at Charmander, using the earlier Quick-Attack to close to distance in less then a second.

"Block it with Metal Claw!" The golden Charmander's claws shined brightly and lengthened as they took on steel like qualities. She raised her left arm and swung it at Riolu's incoming Force Palm. The two attacks connected, both holding strong. The energy from the two attacks started to go out of control and started bleeding of in the form light at the center of the two connecting attacks. Charmander growled as she started to lose ground to Riolu, and then she smirked. She raised her right arm, it's claws glowing with the power of Metal Claw.

Both Riolu's and Ash's eyes widened in panick as the arm swung down at Riolu, who was unable to dodge the attack, other wise the other Metal Claw would overpower his Force Palm, and if he was hit just even once it would be over, "Endure!" Ash screamed frantically. Riolu used his energy and bolstered his body against the incoming attack. The Metal Claw struck Riolu in the side, creating three long and deep scratches on his stomach and making him cry out in pain. It was only thanks to the Endure that he didn't faint on the spot.

Richard and Charmander's eyes widened in shock. They had been sure that the battle had been won! Riolu growled in rage and poured the last of his energy into his Force Palm, making it shine several shade's brighter than ever before. With a scream, he powered his attack through Charmander's Metal Claw and struck her in the chest on the exact same spot as his earlier Force Palm had hit.

The force of the blow sent Charmander flying back. She slammed into an errant boulder, shattering it completely and creating a dust cloud that hid Charmander from sight. It was dead silent for a moment, both trainers watched with bated breath for the smoke to settle. It settled a couple of seconds later to reveal...a knocked out golden coloured Charmander.

Ash cheered and Riolu let out a whoop of joy, and then promptly fell to his knees in exhaustion and pain. Ash's eyes widened and he rushed forward. He caught Riolu before he collapsed completely, "That was awesome Riolu. You were great." He said softly to his starter.

Riolu smiled weakly, _"Not bad...for our first real battle, partner."_

Ash smiled and nodded his head, "It was awesome." Both looked up as they saw Richard approaching them.

Richard smiled at them, "That was a great battle, Ash. I learned a lot from it." He then turned serious, "I would like to continue talking about it, but I think it is more important to get our Pokémon looked after first."

Ash nodded as he cradled Riolu in his arms, "Right! let's go to professor Oak. He can treat them!" Richard nodded. They quickly set of for professor Oak's Ranch to heal their Pokémon.

* * *

"Here you go." Oak smiled at them as he gave their Pokémon back to Ash and Richard, "They are as good as new."

Riolu, completely healed and ready to go jumped to his spot on Ash's shoulder and made himself comfortable. Ash stowed away Pidgey's Pokéball and Richard meanwhile did the same with Butterfree's and Charmander's Pokéball, "Thanks!" They both said at the same time.

"How are you feeling, buddy?" Ash asked Riolu as he looked his starter over.

Riolu grinned, "Better then ever!" He answered as he pumped his fist. Ash chuckled in amusement.

Oak smiled at them and showed them out of the door, "Thanks for visiting but I have got to go back to work. I have an important favor to do for a friend of mine and time is of essence. Have a nice day!" He smiled at them for one last time and shut the door.

Richard turned to Ash, "Well, Ash. I must say that I had a lot of fun with our battle. I hope we can do it again some time."

Ash smiled, "I would love to fight you any time you want, Richard! It was so exciting doing a battle for real instead of just watching!"

Richard chuckled at Ash's giddy response, "I'm already looking forward to our next battle, Ash, because..." Richard smirked, "I'm going to win our next battle!"

Ash laughed, "Oh, no you're not! Next battle I am going to beat you for a second time in a row!"

Richard laughed and clapped Ash on the back in a friendly manner, "Keep telling yourself that!"

The two fell silent and a comfortable silence came over the area as the two trainers looked at the other. Ash smiled and turned to leave, Richard following close behind him as they made there way from Oak's Ranch back to Pallet Town proper, "So, Richard." Ash started, getting the older boy's attention, "You'll be staying in town for another two weeks, right?"

Richard nodded, "Yes. I'll be staying here for another two weeks before I set out on my journey..." He smiled as he trailed of, obviously looking forward to his oncoming adventure.

Ash turned to look at Richard, "Where are you staying anyway? There are no Pokémon Center's in Pallet Town for Pokémon trainers to stay in."

Richard smiled, "I'm staying at my aunt's house for the time being."

Ash nodded and thought for a second, "Hey, do you want to meet up again tomorrow." Richard gave him an inquisitive look, "So that we can exchange battle tactic's and training idea's. And maybe have another battle."

Richard chuckled, "I would love to, Ash." He started, "What about tomorrow at the park at nine Am?"

Ash smiled, "Sounds good to me!"

Richard nodded and then abruptly stopped as they came to a crossroad just short of entering Pallet Town proper, "Well, Ash. I had a lot of fun today. I have to go now, see you tomorrow!" He said as he took the road to the left.

Ash smiled and waved at him as he left. Riolu doing the same from his shoulder, "See you tomorrow Richard!" Ash cast one last smile at Richard's retreating form and turned around and started making his way down the road on the right.

Ash smiled as he thought back on all the things he had experienced and done today. He had his first real battle and he had won! It was so exhilarating! He almost couldn't wait for his next battle with Richard. The same held true for Riolu and Pidgey.

* * *

**A/N: And that was chapter four. I hoped you liked it.**

**Your dearest,**

**theblazinghope2235**


	5. Chapter 5: An Electric Encounter

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

"Speech"

"_(PokéSpeech)_"

_'Thoughts'_

_"Telepathy"_

I'm back from the death! Kidding! Sorry it took so long to update this story but my newest story took all my writing juice. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Ash laughed hard. He was holding his stomach and he was rolling around in the dirt and grass without a care in the world. He was laughing so hard that it hurt and he was crying at the hysteria off it all! It was so god damn funny! Riolu was right next to him, mimicking his actions near perfectly.

Not to far away from him was Richard along with his aunt, Elizabeth, who was scolding her nephew while she dragged him away by the ear to her house. Elizabeth was a twenty-eight year old red-head with clear green eyes and peach coloured skin. Her long red hair dangled from behind her ears to the small of her back. She was wearing a simple blue shirt with long sleeves and black pants that hanged loosely from her frame. Coupled with that she wore black trainers similarly to Richard and she wore golden earrings and had a similar white chain and golden pendant hanging from her neck, just like Richard.

Richard was stumbling behind the bigger woman who had a death grip on his ear. If he didn't know any better he would have thought that his ear was being yanked from his head, "Let go of my ear! What did I do?" He shouted indignantly.

The young woman holding his ear snarled, "What did you do!? You destroyed my lovely rose garden, that's what you did!"

It was true. Richard and Ash had been in Elizabeth's backyard, brainstorming on new battle and training idea's when Richard suddenly got thirsty. After asking if Ash wanted a drink of his own, which he had declined, Richard had made his way to the house. Unfortunately, he wasn't looking where he was going and tripped over a loose stone and fell right into Elizabeth's prized rose garden. Unfortunately, this happened at the same time that Elizabeth came out of the house in order to keep an eye on her nephew and her guest, giving her a front row seat of the destruction of her rose garden. She had immediately turned murderous on her nephew.

Which of course let to the new and to Ash and Riolu's opinion incredibly funny situation.

"Ash!" Elizabeth called out to him as she dragged her nephew through a slide door into her house, "I trust that you can let yourself out! I'd do it myself but I need to teach my nephew the importance of watching his step!"

"That's all right!" Ash croacked out through his laughter, "I'll come back tomorrow!" Without waiting for an answer Ash got up from the ground, prompting Riolu to jump onto his shoulder. Still laughing his ass of he quickly left the garden through the back and made his way home.

* * *

Oak was in his lab. He was sitting on a small chair and was hunched over a table looking into a microscope with a dangerous grin on his face, "Interesting." He muttered as he adjusted the microscope a bit.

Suddenly to the doorbell rang and broke his concentration. Oak frowned and sighed. Just as he was about to make a big discovery he's interrupted by that infernal doorbell!

Taking a deep breath. Professor Oak calmed himself and made his way to the front door. He quickly opened it and was confronted with the mail man, "Good afternoon professor. I have a couple of letters and a package for you."

Oak smiled, "Please, Tysen. I have told you a thousand times all ready to call me Oak or Samuel, not professor! It makes me feel old!" Oak said with a small pout. It was good luck that Tysen was the one that had interrupted his research and not someone else. He had been close friends with the local mail man for years and any one else would not have had such a warm welcome in a similar situation.

Tysen laughed, "But professor! You _are _old! Like Really, really _old_ I might add." Oak's nostrils flared while Tysen laughed even harder, "Anyway. Here are your letters and I have one package for you." The mail man quickly took about half a dozen letters from his bag and retrieved one medium-sized package from his bag. He quickly handed the letters and package to the professor, who took the letters in one hand and placed the package under his arm, "If you could sign this, please." Tysen held out a small paper with some legal procedures on it that didn't interest Oak at all. The old man quickly signed it and gave it back to Tysen. Tysen smiled at him and quickly put the paper away in his bag, "All right then. Have a nice day professor! I'll come by later for our weekly card game!"

Oak's eyebrows twitched in irritation, "Don't call me professor! You..." Oak fumed as Tysen started making his way back to Pallet Town.

Tysen laughed, "All right then." He look over his shoulder at the hopeful looking professor, "I'll see you later..._OLD_ man!"

Tysen quickly ran away from the impending eruption from behind him and wasn't disappointed when he moments later heard, "_DAMN YOU TYSEN_!" Chuckling, Tysen continued on his route.

Oak was fuming, '_That...that...that piece of...anoying...bastard.' _Oak took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself. Surprisingly, he succeeded. Well, maybe not so surprisingly. He had been friends with Tysen for years now and he was accustomed to his antics and his infuriating ways.

Oak closed his front door as calmly as possible and made his way to the living room. He sunk into his chair with a sigh and deposited the half a dozen letters on the table and placed the package on his lap.

Oak looked at it curiously. He wasn't expecting any packages and he hadn't ordered anything from abroad. So what could it be? He quickly ripped of the protective brown paper around the package only to reveal a small black box. Frowning, Oak flipped the box open and was surprised to see one Pokéball laying in the memory foam interior of the box. A Pokéball with a lightning bolt sign carved into the front.

Oak blinked and carefully took the Pokéball from the protective foam. He put the box aside and looked curiously at the Pokéball in his hands. Why would someone send him a Pokéball with a lightning bolt sign on it? Did the person who sent it not want the Pokémon inside it? Then why would that person take the effort to decorate the Pokéball in the first place?

His curiosity getting the better of him Oak opened the Pokéball. In a bright white light a Pichu appeared but it wasn't and ordinary Pichu. It's right ear had three spiky protrusions standing on end. It was a Spiky Eared Pichu.

"Pi _(Where am I)_?" The Pichu asked in a daze, his voice sounding a little boyish, donating him as a male.

Oak stared surprised at the little guy now sitting on his lap. Why would someone give away such a rare Pokémon was beyond him. The spiky haired Pichu fell on his rear and looked dazed for a second before his small eyes settled on Oak. He immediately tried to get away from the unfamiliar man.

Oak saw this immediately and smiled at the nervous Spiky Eared Pichu on his lap, "There is no need for that. I won't hurt you. I just want to be your friend." Oak slowly reached out towards the spiky haired Pichu to pet him. That was a mistake.

The special Pichu's eyes shrank in fear at the incoming hand. He reacted on instinct and used Thunder Wave. The wave of lightning infused energy danced across the Spiky Eared Pichu's body and made direct contact with professor Oak, paralyzing him and frying his hair into a mess.

The special Pichu made immediate use of the opportunity and fled from professor Oak, who was trying desperately and failing to fight through his paralyzes, _'This...will not and well. No matter the outcome.' _Oak thought to himself in semi panic. Two bad things could happen. One: Pichu might get hurt. Two: Tysen could find out what Pichu had done to him and tease him endlessly about it.

Despite the situation, he hoped with all his heart that if something bad must happen from this, that it was the latter scenario.

* * *

Riolu smirked and barely restrained himself from cackling in glee and humor.

On the way home from Richard's aunts house Ash had the _pleasure _of getting hit in the face by a flying Spearow who wasn't looking where it was going. It wouldn't have been so bad if the Spearow didn't start to peck at Ash the moment he righted himself. For some reason the Spearow seemed to be particularly agitated with Ash.

"Gahh!" Ash exclaimed in annoyance. The Spearow made another dive for his face only to be backhanded away from doing so by Ash himself. The Spearow landed on it's side in the grass, it's eyes crunched up in pain.

Ash muttered something under his breath that made Riolu finally release his laughter. The jackal-like Pokémon spoke between guffaws, _"That...was...truly...hilarious." _Riolu managed to get out before falling from Ash's shoulder in a laughing fit.

Ash scowled darkly at his starter. He was attacked and his partner is laughing about it in his face! The nerve! Sighing, Ash shoved his dark thoughts down and walked up to the still hysterically laughing Riolu. A mischievous gleam appeared in his eyes. Ash raised his left foot...and brought it down on Riolu's tail with all his might. Riolu abruptly stopped laughing.

Riolu's laughs turned into pained howls as before he was rolling on the ground in hysteria he was now rolling around holding his tail in pain. Ash grinned, "Serves you right." Ash mumbled hard enough for Riolu to hear.

After a minute Riolu stopped rolling around in pain and managed to stand up. He glared at Ash, murder in his eyes, still tenderly holding his tail between his paws, _"You ass! I was simply laughing at you and you stomp me on my tail for it! What's wrong with you!?"_

Ash snickered, "You! That's what's wrong with me!"

Riolu glared at him for a little while longer before huffing and releasing his tail, "_It's all right...if you give me a Pokétreat later."_ Riolu said quickly.

Ash rolled his eyes and smiled, "Sure, if you keep quiet about this to anyone. Agreed."

Riolu nodded with a smug smile on his face, _"Deal!"_ He said immediately, _'Who would I tell anyway? Pidgey? She is the only one that would care about it anyway. And it's not like I am going to speak to some random Pokémon or Human any time soon.' _He thought to himself.

Riolu shook those thoughts from his mind and jumped to his spot on Ash's shoulder, who was about to continue on his way home when a flash of bright white light flashed from his left and drew his attention. He turned towards it and was just in time to see a ThunderShock attack screaming towards him. He managed to duck the lightning bolt at the last second. The ThunderShock continued on its path and struck the almost recovered Spearow from before, knocking him out.

Ash and Riolu quickly turned their attention to their would be attacker. They both did a double take when they saw a panting Spiky Eared Pichu standing a small ways away from the road proper.

Ash paused for a moment, not knowing what he should do in this situation. The unique Pichu had attacked him without provocation, for no reason. Was it scared? Was it wild? Or wasn't it thinking straight? To many questions and not enough answers. How should he deal with this situation? Sighing, Ash decided to go with his instinct and acted. He took a step forward and kneeled down to the frightened Pichu to look him in the eyes. The Pichu looked back at him nervously and tensed to move at a moments notice.

"Hey, there little budy. Why did you attack me? Is something wrong?" Ash asked the baby Pokémon kindly.

The Pichu started to edge away and it seemed if it was about to bolt. Riolu reacted immediately, _"Calm down. We're not going to hurt you, I promise. We're just concerned about you."_ Pichu didn't look convinced, _"Please give us a chance. We haven't done anything to you have we? We just want to help you."_

Pichu still didn't look convinced, _"Please, just tell us what is wrong and we'll help you. I promise you that." _Riolu said patiently.

The Spiky Eared Pichu hesitated for a moment before nodding. He relaxed minutely at the sound of Ash's and Riolu's kind voices and started talking which just meant that he was saying his name over and over again. Luckily, Ash had Riolu to translate for him.

As Pichu continued on talking Riolu translated everything and informed Ash through his Aura, _"Hmm. He's saying that he had been captured by a Pokéball shortly after he had hatched from his egg. He doesn't even remember his parents faces. He also doesn't know who captured him in the first place. He never got the chance to see them. The next thing he knows he's released from the Pokéball and find's himself in a unfamiliar place on the lap of an older man. He was frightened and paralyzed the man and ran. He had been running through the woods and suddenly he came on the open road. He was frightened when he saw us and reacted by sending a ThunderShock attack at us. And here we are now."_

Ash pondered this for a moment before asking a question, "And the man that released you. Do you know who this older man was?" The Pichu shook his head. Meaning no, "How did he look like then?" Pichu thought for a second and started to describe the older man for him. Again, Riolu translated for him.

Ash knew immediately who Pichu was talking about when he finished his description, _"Sounds like professor Oak." _Riolu said, voicing Ash's thoughts.

Ash pondered this for a moment before deciding what he should do, "Tell you what little guy are you hungry?"

Pichu hesitated for a brief moment, but before he could answer his tiny stomach did it for him with a loud growl. The bright pink dots on Pichu's cheeks turned bright red in embarrassment while the little one looked down.

Ash and Riolu laughed, "I'll take that as a yes." Ash said, before grinning at the Tiny Mouse Pokémon, "You know. I have tonnes of Pokéfood and Pokétreats back at home. You can come with us if you want some."

By this time Pichu had slowly started to thrust Ash and Riolu, so it only took a second before the special Pichu nodded his assent...which was accompanied by another hungry growl. Pichu looked down in embarrassment. Riolu and Ash snickered.

Pichu blinked in surprise as Ash placed his open palm on the ground in front of him. He looked up and looked at Ash with a questioning look. Ash grinned at the small yellow mouse, "I'm not making you walk the entire way home little guy. You're already tired. Come on, you'll ride on my shoulder like Riolu does." Pichu's eyes flickered briefly towards Riolu, before looking back towards Ash's still open palm. The small mouse like Pokémon grinned before sprinting on all fours up Ash's arm and jumped unto his shoulder with a happy, "Pi Pichu _(Thank You)_!"

Ash stood up and straightened. He flashed a smile to the small Pichu and started walking back to his home. Occasionally conversing with the Spiky Eared Pichu with the help of Riolu.

* * *

Unknown to Ash, Riolu and their new Pichu friend they were being watched by old and weary eyes that still sparked brightly at the scene before them, "My my, Ash is a lucky one isn't he." An wizened old voice said.

Oak watched the young trainer walk away with Riolu and the spiky haired Pichu riding his shoulder. He was hidden behind some bushes and trees a little ways away from the open road that perfectly hid him from sight. He had managed to fight through the paralysis that Pichu had placed him under with his Thunder Wave attack after two minutes and had immediately given chase to the frightened Pokémon. This had led him through a large part of the forest of Pallet Town in chase of his elusive quarry. The moment he had caught up with the Pokémon he had been giving chase to, though, he found him talking to Ash and his Riolu. Seeing as Pichu was most likely scared of him and that he didn't want the little guy to take of running again he had decided to remain hidden and observe what Ash would do with Pichu.

He certainly wasn't disappointed. Ash, with the help of Riolu, had managed to calm the Pichu down and had gained the frightened Pokémon's thrust in record time. Ash truly had a natural way with Pokémon it seemed.

Chuckling to himself, Oak straightened up from his crouched position behind the tree he was hiding behind, and cracked his back. He smiled to himself, _'It seems that Ash has already solved my problem for me and he gained a new friend for himself as well.'_ Oak thought for a moment what he should do. He nodded to himself as he decided the course of action he would take, _'I will check up on them first thing tomorrow morning. That should give Pichu enough time to become totally comfortable with Ash.'_ His mind set, he turned around and made his way back home.

* * *

Ash was currently sitting at the table in his mother's kitchen, all the while feasting away at his mothers delicious cooking. Riolu, Pidgey and Pichu were now eating their Pokéfood from their bowls beside the kitchen table in clear view of Ash.

Delia smiled from her seat at the opposite end of the table from Ash, "You're certainly aren't taking it slow are you, Ash?" She said, getting Ash's attention. Delia's eyes flickered towards the three Pokémon eating besides the table, "Only being a trainer for a little more than two months and you already have three Pokémon. And three completely different once two."

Ash swallowed the food he was chewing on and scratched the back of his head, "Um, actually. Pichu isn't my Pokémon. I haven't caught him. I only took him home with me."

Delia cocked her head in surprise, idly noting that Riolu, Pidgey and Pichu had stopped eating and were now paying attention to her and Ash's conversation, "Oh, why haven't you? I thought you would jump at the chance to catch such a unique Pichu like this one."

Ash shrugged, "I ran into this little guy when I was heading back home. He was tired and scared. It just seemed...wrong to attack and try to catch him in such a state. And I was trying to calm him down and help him. Battling and catching Pichu would have only made things worse."

Delia blinked at the explanation, before smiling brightly at her child, "That's a very nice and mature thing to do, Ash." Ash blushed at his mothers praise, "I'm curious, though, wouldn't you want Pichu to be on your team? Electric-Types like him are quite rare all things considered."

Ash blinked at the question and Pichu looked hopefully at Ash, not that he saw it, "Well of course I would want such an awesome Pokémon on my team bu-" That was as far as Ash came with his speech. He was cut of as something made contact with his chest, "Oef!" Ash looked down and was surprised to see that Pichu had jumped onto his chest and was now clinging to chest with his tiny paws. The small yellow mouse looked up at him with a hopeful expression. It took Ash only a second to find out what Pichu wanted. He smiled brightly, "You want to become a part of my team, Pichu?" The Spiky Eared Pichu nodded rapidly. Ash's smile widened, "Well, of course you can be a part of my team! The more the merrier!"

Pichu smiled brightly. He nuzzled Ash's face, making him giggle a little. Ash placed Pichu back down in his lap, "Now we just need to retrieve your Pokéball from professor Oak to make it official."

At first Pichu was confused, not knowing who he meant by 'professor Oak' until he remembered the old man who had released him from his Pokéball. Pichu's eyes shrunk into dots and suddenly looked very scared at the mention of Oak. Ash, and pretty much anyone else in the room immediately picked up on this. Ash immediately tried to reassure Pichu, "Relax! There's nothing to be afraid of, especially not professor Oak. He's one of the kindest people I know. I swear." Pichu had calmed down at Ash's words but still didn't look totally convinced, "You don't even have to see him if you don't want too. I can go pick up the Pokéball myself, or mom can go pick it up."

Pichu nodded, now completely calm again, and happily jumped up to Ash's face and gave him a small lick. Ash giggled. Pichu jumped down from Ash's lap and went back to his Pokéfood.

Delia smiled, "I'll go pick up Pichu's Pokéball first thing in the morning, honey. I need to speak to the professor anyway." Ash smiled and nodded in thanks to his mother before he continued with his dinner.

After having finished their dinner Ash, and his three Pokémon spent the rest of the night just playing and lazing around while Delia switched from looking fondly at them and watching television.

Soon, it was time for Ash to go to bed. After his mother had hoarded him to brush his teeth and to wash his hair Ash had laid down in his bed, "Goodnight honey." Delia whispered as she kissed her sons forehead. Ash looked distinctly uncomfortable with Riolu and Pichu watching, who chuckled at his plight. Pidgey had been put back in her Pokéball.

Delia quickly turned to leave and vacated Ash's room. She gave Ash one last smile as she closed the door. The light of the hallway disappeared, bathing the room in blackness. Meanwhile, Riolu and Pichu had jumped onto the foot of Ash's bed and made themselves comfortable on the blanket, "Goodnight Riolu and Pichu." He muttered tiredly.

_"Goodnight Ash."_

"Pi Pichu Pi. _(Goodnight Ash)_."

* * *

The next morning we find Ash up bright and early in his backyard. He was sitting down cross-legged underneath the shade of the tree in the center of the backyard while Riolu was standing in front of him. Pidgey and Pichu watched on curiously from their spot on one of the branches in the tree Ash was sitting under. It was always interesting to watch a Pokémon train his trainer. It was just so...different.

_"Okay, I know I have already told you this the first time we started training in an attempt to harness your Aura, but for the sake of review I will repeat it_ _anyway."_ Riolu said. The Emanation Pokémon started pacing in front of Ash, his small black paws folded behind his back as he assumed teacher mode, _"Aura is the very essence of life itself. Everybody has it. Aura is like a wave. I and my evolved form can pick up this wave, like how an ordinary Pokémon or Human picks up sound waves, which allows my species too see and sense the Auras of others. However, due to the fact that Aura is the same as sound, it can be interrupted by anything that cuts the airspace." _Riolu explained. After making sure that Ash was following Riolu continued, _"Aura has a variety of uses. It can allow the user to read the minds and movements of others. An Aura user can sense the Aura's of other people around it as well. Aura can also be used to manifest defensive barriers or attacks. You can even transfer Aura to another but this can be fatal to the user."_ Riolu paused in his pacing and turned to face Ash, _"I myself can't manifest my Aura to use it as an attack or defence until I evolve into a Lucario but I can naturally do everything else Aura has to offer. You, Ash, can't do any of these things naturally. But the progress we have made the last two months has made it clear that it can indeed be taught."_

They had indeed been making progress. Riolu had Ash train in trying to keep track of his movements and position with a blindfold on and with cotton pieces in his ears, eliminating the chance that Ash could locate the Emanation Pokémon by sound and sight, forcing him to try and locate Riolu with his Aura. At first, Ash couldn't locate Riolu no matter how hard he tried, but he kept trying and after a month they had started training things had started to change.

Ash had sometimes been able to see small blue flashes around him, even without wearing the blindfold on and without even trying too. His Aura, that Riolu had noted was huge for an average Human, was responding and was slowly awakening to his call to use it. His Aura was slowly becoming something that Ash would be able to use consciously, but at the speed it was coming it would take years before it was fully awakened.

But even if it wasn't fully awakened yet he should be in tune enough with the energy to sence the Aura of others and be able to 'see' it. He just needed to learn how. Still, that was easier said then done.

_"Now, we're going to try something different." _Riolu announced. He walked up to small pile of nuts that Pidgey had been nice enough to gather for him, _"Up to this point we have tried to passively awaken your Aura and use but now we're going to _force_ it."_ The jackal-like Pokémon said and picked up a nut, _"Stand up." _He commanded.

Ash complied wordlessly and stood up. Riolu grinned dangerously. Ash didn't like it one bit, _"I'm going to throw these nuts at you. It's your job to sense where they're going and were I am at all times. You will try to evade my attacks with your blindfold on and your 'earplugs' in."_

Ash's eyebrow twitched, "You're just doing this to get back at me for stomping on your tail yesterday, aren't you?"

Riolu chuckled, _"So what if I am? This is still an effective training excercise and should be more effective since you'll be in the heat of the moment. If you want to learn to use your Aura we would have tried this training eventually anyway. We're just doing it a little earlier then I had planned."_

If Ash's mother wasn't such a strict parent Ash would have sworn at Riolu.

Riolu grinned, _"Now, put on your blindfold and put in your earplugs."_

Ash grumbled something under his breath. He tied his blindfold around his head, covering his eyes and put in his cotton earplugs.

Riolu's face turned serious and took ten steps to the left, making sure that Ash wouldn't be able to guess where the nuts would be coming from. Riolu studied Ash. His body was tense, ready to move at a moments notice and ready to dodge, if he knew from where and when the nuts would be coming from. Riolu drew back his arm and threw the nut at Ash's chest.

The nut impacted soundly with Ash's chest. It bounced of and fell to the ground. The boy scowled. The impact didn't hurt or anything but the fact that he didn't sense it coming was annoying. He didn't get all that mad, though, having suspected that he would get hit many times today.

Riolu nodded and picked up another nut. He took thirty steps to the right and hurled the nut at Ash's chest. Again, it impacted with Ash's chest without the boy being able to dodge.

This went on for the next half an hour. Ash being unable to see, hear or sense the nut coming and as such being unable to dodge them. If Ash had the guess more than a hundred nuts had impacted with him. He was getting annoyed now.

_'Relax.'_ Ash thought, _'Focus. Think about your surroundings, nothing else. Try to feel it, touch with your heart.'_ Ash mentally repeated Riolu's words that he had said to him at the beginning of their partnership to himself. His mind and body slowly relaxed.

Riolu noted this and grinned, _'Now we're getting somewhere.' _Riolu threw another nut at Ash's chest and it connected again. Surprisingly, Ash started to smile. Riolu changed his position and threw another nut. This time, though, Ash leaned to the right, successfully dodging it this time.

Now grinning fiercely Ash changed his own stance and dodged another nut. This...this was incredible. Before he saw only darkness but now, he could see! Ash ducked, dodging another nut. He could see through his eyes, through the blindfold, and that was not all, he could see all around him two! He could see Riolu moving and throwing in front of him, and he 'saw' his entire backyard, the flowers, the grass, the ground, and the tree with Pidgey and Pichu in it behind him. The blue picture of the world around him was extremely blurry and he could hardly make out the shapes of his Pokémon but it was enough. He couldn't see the nuts coming but he could see Riolu making throwing motions. That was enough for him to dodge the assault.

Riolu noticed this and decided to change things up a bit. He scooped up a dozen nuts, jumped up high and threw all the nuts in a wide arc at Ash. Ash's eyes widened from behind his blindfold. The aspiring trainer jumped, ducked, weaved and shifted his position frantically, trying to evade the onslaught. He managed to evade the majority but was still hit by one or two nuts.

Riolu landed and grinned. He used his Aura and talked directly to Ash's mind, _"That was great, Ash! You've made great progress."_ Riolu praised his trainer, "_You can take of the blindfold and take out your earplugs now."_

Ash grinned, pulled out his earplugs and yanked down the blindfold, revealing a surprising sight. Ash's normally brown eyes were glowing light blue, a manifestation of his Aura. Riolu looked faintly surprised that Ash's Aura was already becoming visible to the naked eye, but after a second of thought it became clear to him that it only made sense. Ash's Aura was simply strong enough to manifest itself, even if it was only partially awakened. The glow in Ash's eyes receded.

Riolu wasn't the only one that had seen it, however. Delia and professor Oak, who had a front line show from their spot at the door leading to the backyard, had also seen it. Delia had run into professor Oak when she was heading for his Ranch and since he had Pichu's Pokéball on him and that he was heading for her house anyway it was simply much simpler to go back home with professor Oak in tow. Both Delia and Oak looked wide-eyed at Ash.

Delia seemed to be at a loss for words, "Professor Oak, what was..."

Oak was silent for but a moment before answering, "I think I know what this is. I've heard and read stories where Humans in the past were able to control and use Aura. Riolu must be teaching Ash how to do it."

Delia looked slightly off from her normal self, "It isn't dangerous or anything, right? To learn how to use Aura is it?"

Oak shrugged, "Not to the best of my knowledge." Oak answered, before he remembered something, "You know what. I think I have a book about Aura usage back at home." Oak turned towards Delia and took out Pichu's Pokéball from his pocket, "I'm going back to my Ranch to look for that book. I'm certain that Ash would love to have it." The professor handed Pichu's Pokéball to Delia, "Here. Give it to Ash. I'll be back in a couple of hours, okay?"

Delia nodded and smiled at the Pokémon professor, "Of course, and thanks professor Oak."

Oak chuckled, "There's no need to thank me, Delia. It's my pleasure to help." Oak turned to leave, "I'll let myself out. I'll be back soon."

Delia smiled, "Thanks professor Oak! Till later!"

"Bye!" The professor called back before he disappeared from sight.

Delia turned back to her backyard and called out, "Ash! I'm back!" Her son and his three Pokémon immediately turned their attention to her. Ash grinned when Delia held up Pichu's Pokéball.

Ash ran up to her and picked Pichu's Pokéball from her hands, "Thanks, mom!" Her son said happily. Delia giggled. Riolu, Pidgey and Pichu also came running. Riolu and Pichu jumped onto Ash's shoulders, one on each shoulder, and Pidgey flew above Ash's head. Ash grinned as he held up Pichu's Pokéball, "Now our partnership is official, Pichu." Pichu rubbed it's cheek against Ash's own cheek. Ash giggled.

Delia smiled at the sight, "Now, honey. I'm going to do the laundry. Have fun." She said and made her way back inside her house.

Ash watched his mother leave and suddenly perked up as he remembered something, "Oh, I almost completely forgot!" All Ash's Pokémon looked at their trainer. Ash fished his Pokédex from his pocket. Riolu and Pidgey nodded in understanding while Pichu cocked his head to the side in confusion.

Ash grinned and angled his Pokédex at his Pichu. With a beep the machine activated and went through the information on Pichu, "Pichu, the Tiny Mouse Pokémon. Pichu are social Pokémon known for their playfulness. They tend to be very mischievous and are always on the lookout for something fun to do. They are usually found in groups, typically with members of their own species, but occasionally with other types of Pokémon. Like their evolutions, they are capable of storing electricity from the atmosphere, however, this ability requires much practice to perfect. Pichu are prone to randomly discharging electricity, as they are not fully mature. They become better at holding power as they grow older. Pichu are frequently observed touching tails with each other, creating a shower of sparks." The Pokédex said in monotone and matter of factly, "This Pichu is Male and has the ability Static. It currently knows how to use the attacks, ThunderShock, Charm, Tail Whip and Thunder Wave. Note: This Pichu has the Hidden Ability Lightningrod."

Ash grinned at Pichu, "Wow, impressive." Pichu looked away with a smile.

The smile disappeared, though, as Ash raised Pichu's Pokéball. He had seen the lightning shaped sign carved on it and he was intrigued by it. A small whimper to his left stopped him cold. He looked towards his left and saw that Pichu was trying to hide his face behind his paws and that he was shaking lightly.

Ash looked towards the shaking and scared Spiky Eared Pichu and then looked back to Pichu's Pokéball. It hit Ash like a ton of bricks, "You don't like your Pokéball, do you Pichu?" Pichu shakily shook his head. Ash smiled reassuringly at the Tiny Mouse Pokémon, "That's alright. If you don't like being inside your Pokéball you won't have to." Pichu's head snapped to Ash, his adorable eyes wide. Ash smiled. He shrunk Pichu's Pokéball and clipped it to his belt, "You can stay outside just like Riolu."

Pichu was still for but a second, before smiling widely and rubbed his cheek against Ash's own cheek. Ash smiled and raised his arm to pet Pichu on the head.

"Now!" Ash clapped his hands together, getting his Pokémon's attention, "The day is still young! Let's go train!"

Riolu and Pidgey nodded immediately and Pichu just cocked his head and smiled.

* * *

Ash stood at the edge of Pallet Town just were Route 1 began. Riolu and his new Pichu friend were sitting on his shoulders and Pidgey had made herself comfortable on his head. His mother stood on his left, behind him, and Elizabeth was on his right. All people and Pokémon present looked a little sad. The reason being: Richard was leaving. It had been about two weeks ago since he had first met Richard and Pichu. It was time for Richard to leave.

The sun had only just risen but Richard was too excited to wait any longer. They were here to see him of on his journey. His quest to become the best he could become.

Elizabeth walked forwards and embraced her nephew, "Be safe and have fun." She said tersely. Richard nodded and suddenly winced as his aunts grips tightened uncomfortably. She hissed into his ear, "_And Watch your step_."

Richard nodded rapidly. Elizabeth smiled dangerously. She released her nephew and stepped back. Ash stepped forwards and held out his hand. Richard smiled and firmly grasped the appendage and shook it, "You better kick ass in those three years head start you have, Richard. Because after that I'll be coming for you." Ash said confidently.

Richard snorted, "Keep telling yourself that." He pulled Ash closer and whispered into his ear, "I look forward to battling you again, Ash. You better keep up your training. I don't want to beat you to easily. That would be no fun at all."

Now it was Ash's turn to snort, "You didn't beat me the first time and you won't beat me the next time." He suddenly grinned, "It's you who will have to get stronger to be a match for me."

Richard laughed and let go of Ash. He holstered his backpack and smiled one last time at all present, "See you later. I'll be back when I'm famous." Everyone chuckled. Richard turned and started walking away. He looked over his shoulder and waved at them. Ash, his Pokémon, Delia and Elizabeth waved back, "Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!" The group said farewell to the leaving rookie trainer. They watched him walk away until he was no longer visible.

Ash smiled sadly. He was happy for Richard but he was equally sad that his friend had to leave. Delia noticed this and placed her hand on his back, seeing that his head and shoulder were occupied at the moment.

Ash turned and smiled at his mother. Delia smiled back, "I'll miss him." Ash said.

Delia nodded, "Of course you will." She smiled and reached for something behind her back. Ash looked curiously as his mother took out a book from her own backpack. It was pretty big, scratch that, it was the biggest book he had ever seen. It had a light blue and green coloured cover with a man depicted in strange blue, green, black and yellow coloured clothing on the cover, "But I think I have something that will cheer you up. Professor Oak gave it to me to give to you." She handed Ash the book.

Ash took it and looked it over. He gasped and froze as he read the capital letters on the front of the cover. His Pokémon mimicked his actions. Ash read the book's title one more time to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

_The Secrets of the Aura Guardian_.

* * *

**A/N: And that was chapter five. I hope you liked it.**

**Your dearest,**

**theblazinghope2235.**


	6. Chapter 6: Creation of a Rival

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

"Speech"

"_(PokéSpeech)_"

_'Thoughts'_

_"Telepathy"_

And here we are again with another chapter of The Plays of Fate. Took me a week to make my biggest chapter yet for this story. Enjoy.

* * *

Ash smiled as he leaned back into the bark of the tree he was laying against. He had his legs propped up, using them to lay the book that his mother had given to him, _The Secrets of the Aura Guardian_, at a comfortable angle so he could read it without craning his neck too much. His backpack laid to his left on the ground. It had been about three months since Richard had left on his journey and since he had gotten this awesome book from his mother. He had almost finished reading it and it had changed him. A lot had happened in the intervening three months but nothing had effected him as much as this book had. Before reading it he had only one ambition in life, to become a Pokémon Master. Now...now he also wished to become an Aura Guardian.

The book, _The Secrets of the Aura Guardian_, had revealed to him what an Aura Guardian was and what their purpose in life had been. There were a lot of things that they did and rules that they lived by but at it's core it boiled down to this. Helping people and Pokémon where ever they went. An Aura Guardian would travel around the world helping where they could whenever they could with the use of their Aura powers that they had trained for years in order to learn how to use. Some Aura Guardians also chose to stay on one spot if they felt if such a place deserved such protection.

It was such a shame that the era of the Aura Guardians had passed. According to the book, the last known Aura Guardian, Sir Aaron, had died more then a millenia ago when he sacrificed himself to save his home from being caught in between a war. No one was completely sure what had happened to him or how he had saved the kingdom of Cameran but he had succeeded in preventing the battle from even taking place somehow by giving up his own life.

The story had inspired him. As he traveled around the Pokémon world on the quest he would inevitably set out on to become a Pokémon Master he could simultaneously help people and Pokémon wherever his help was needed. He would become the best he could be while he helped people all around the world. For a child like Ash, with his innocence, it was the perfect life goal.

His new life goal had inspired him to work even harder on his developing Aura abilities. The results were already showing. Before he could only see a blurry blue image of the world around him if he allowed his Aura to guide him and he could only see op to a couple of meters away. Compared to masters who, according to his book, could see for miles if they concentrated, it was barely being able to see the hand in front of your nose. But now...now the picture his Aura painted for him was in much more detail, he could see the little indention's on an orange for example instead of just seeing it's general shape. He could now also 'see' up to twenty meters away. It was nothing compared to the Aura sight of masters, but it was definitely impressive for a seven going on eight year old boy.

He hadn't been the only one training hard. Riolu and Pidgey, emboldened by their trainers determination had also stepped up their training, and Pichu, who was determined to prove himself to his new trainer despite his young age, was working hard to close the gap in strength between himself and Riolu and Pidgey. In fact, his three Pokémon were training right now.

Ash peeked over his book and smiled as he watched his Pokémon train. They where currently training their speed with their daily routine of racing around the clearing in the park he had chosen as his training spot. Riolu was upfront, his naturally physically strong and lithe body giving him the advantage. Pidgey was flying over head, her wings flapping frantically as she trailed a bit behind the Emanation Pokémon. And at the back was Pichu, running on all fours as he gave it his all to keep up with the older and more trained Pokémon.

They were approaching the finish line now. Riolu, Pidgey and Pichu pushed their exhausted bodies even further as they desperately sought to win...and get the ever so delicious Pokétreat as a reward for winning. Riolu and Pidgey were now neck a neck, well, more like head to beak considering the fact that Pidgey was above him, not besides Riolu. Pichu was still trailing behind them but had surprisingly managed to close the gap between himself and the two other Pokémon a little as he pushed himself to the limit.

With a triumphant squeak Pidgey pushed herself forwards with even more determination, actually overtaking Riolu and rushing first over the line Ash had carved in the dirt as the finish line. Riolu came in second and immediately let out a disappointed whine. Then came Pichu, who just collapsed in exhaustion right behind Riolu. Pidgey did a few twirls in the air before flying towards Ash.

Ash closed his book and propped himself up. He held out his arm, and Pidgey came swooping down and landed on his wrist. Ash smiled at the Flying and Normal-type. he reached into his pocket and took out a bright red Pokétreat. Pidgey squeaked as he took the Pokétreat out of it's see through plastic that was wrapped around the treat and held it out to Pidgey. Pidgey took it eagerly with her beak and flew of. She settled on a low hanging branch and started happily munching away on it.

_"No fair!"_ Riolu whined as he looked enviously at Pidgey.

Ash laughed, "Now, now Riolu. She won fair and square."

Riolu pouted, causing Ash to laugh and Pichu, who had just manage to drag himself up right again, to giggle into his tiny paws.

Pidgey had, while they were talking, managed to completely chew down the Pokétreat. It was delicious. She pushed herself of the branch and flew down. She landed in front of Ash and besides Riolu.

Ash grinned at them, "Now, today we're going to be doing something different from normal." All three Pokémon looked up curiously, "Instead of doing our normal training routine I'm going to teach you some new moves."

Three sets of eyes widened and three sets of eyes lighted up in excitement at the idea.

Ash laughed, "Since Pidgey and Pichu need to learn a strong close range attack anyway they will be learning Steel Wing and Iron Tail respectively. This has the added bonus that they'll learn moves that are strong against Types they're weak against." Pichu and Pidgey looked giddy at learning these awesome new moves. Ash turned to Riolu, "Riolu, since you already have a balanced move pole you're going to learn an all-purpose technique, Double Team."

Riolu choked on the air he was breathing and Pidgey and Pichu fell down laughing their asses of, _"What!" _Riolu yelled at the top his lungs, well, Aura, _"Why do Pidgey and Pichu get to learn cool new attacks and I get to learn something as _basic_ as Double Team!"_

Ash raised an eyebrow, "Weren't you listening? I just explained why you would be learning Double Team." Riolu still looked indignant, "I know that Double Team isn't the coolest or flashiest move but it will come in handy for when you're in battle. I would have preferred to teach you a long distance attack so you could strike at your opponents at range but my research didn't turn up any useful long-range attacks that you could learn. And besides, the value of Double Team is highly underestimated in my opinion. It's perfect to confuse you're opponents and it's the perfect move to set up a trap."

Riolu calmed down at Ash's explanation and nodded. What he said made sense. Pidgey and Pichu had also stopped laughing by this time and had righted themselves.

Riolu sighed and cracked his neck, _"So, how will we be learning these new moves?"_

Ash stood up and stretched, "According to the research I have done, for a Pokémon to learn a Steel-Type physical attack, the Pokémon first needs to strengthen the muscles in the appendage used for the attack. Basically, Pidgey and Pichu are going to do exercises for that, Pichu to make his tail stronger and Pidgey to make her wings harder." Both Pidgey and Pichu got a sick feeling. Something told them that they weren't going to like this one bit. Riolu snickered at them.

Riolu blinked as he realized something. He cocked his head to the side in interest, _"Wait. Did you just say research? What have you been researching and when?"_

Ash shrugged, "What? Did you think that I was only reading _The Secrets of the Aura Guardian _these three months. I've continued reading books about Pokémon these last months as well. In particular books about how you can teach Pokémon new techniques. I of course studied what moves I would be able to teach you guys." Riolu nodded in understanding.

"As for you, Riolu." Ash continued, ignoring his Pokémon's reactions, "In order to learn Double Team you'll have to learn to focus your energy, not you're Aura, but the basic energy all Pokémon use to power their attacks, and then project it to multiple locations to form an image of yourself. There's no real training method to learn it. You'll just have to try and see what works." Riolu looked a little daunted at hearing that. Ash picked up on this and smiled at his starter, "Relax, Riolu. There's a reason this is considered a basic move. It's far easier to learn then you think." Riolu nodded, his determination to learn Double Team gathering.

Ash crouched and picked up his backpack. He zipped it open and took out three pieces of rope, one small one and two longer ones. Ash closed his backpack again and threw it behind him. He walked to the right, signaling for Pidgey and Pichu to follow him as he did, which they obediently did. They came to the edge of the tree line, were a couple of loose rocks where. He picked up one rock, only te size of a pebble and tied it to the end of the short rope. He then tied two medium-sized stones to the ends of the other two longer ropes. Both Pidgey and Pichu had a sinking feeling in their guts, knowing what their trainer had in mind.

Ash had to chuckle at their expressions, they were priceless, "Come here Pidgey, Pichu. No pain, no gain." He answered their unasked question.

Both nodded their compliance and stepped forwards. Ash had them turn around. He tied the small rope with the small pebble to Pichu's tail and tied the two longer pieces of rope with the medium-sized stones to both the wings of Pidgey.

Ash stood up straight, "You guys will need to lift this rocks as many times as it takes until your tail and wings are strong enough for Steel-Type moves. It will probably take at least a couple of days of training before you'll be able to learn Steel Wing and Iron Tail." If Pokémon were capable of paling they would have. This wasn't going to be fun. They still started moving their tail and wings up and down with some effort.

Ash smiled at them, "Keep it up." He said and made his way back over to Riolu, who was trying to restrain himself from cackling at Pichu's and Pidgey's plight. He wasn't very good at it.

"Riolu." Ash said, getting his starters attention, "You'll better start training. Other wise I'll make you carry Pichu back home after training." Riolu immediately stopped laughing and started to try and learn Double Team. While he was more than strong enough the carry Pichu but after a long day of training it would be hell to carry the little guy all the way back home.

Ash chuckled. He walked back to the tree he had been sitting under and picked up his book. He leaned back into the tree, this time staying standing and flipped the book open. He continued where he had left of while occasionally glancing over the rim of his book to watch his Pokémon train.

He was moving forward. Forward to his dream.

* * *

That evening we find Ash sitting at his desk in his room with _The Secrets of the Aura Guardian_ flipped open laying on his desk. Pidgey was in her Pokéball and Pichu and Riolu were already asleep on his bed, completely tired out from their training.

He had almost finished it and a feeling that Ash had come to be very familiar with the last few months in his life started to fill his chest. disappointment. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the book, quite the opposite really. He loved it's so much that he was sad that he was almost done reading it. He could of course read it again but it wouldn't have the same feeling is it did the first read through.

With a quiet sigh, Ash turned to page to the last few lines in the book. His eyes widened at what he saw.

The last page was beautifully decorated with deep blue and yellow lines literally dancing and colouring around each other on the contours of the page. In the centre was a perfect painted picture of Sir Aaron with his scepter in hand. Besides the iconic man stood the following text.

_The Aura Guardian. He who protects, he who serves._

_The Protector shall always come in aid to the ones in need._

_The Servant will always listen to those that speak._

_The Aura Guardian will always bring aid and listen to those that truly need._

_He who protects, he who serves will always help where ever they can._

Ash closed his eyes as the lines were burned into his memory. He smiled. The aspiring trainer and Aura Guardian closed his eyes and closed the book.

Ash didn't know it yet, but in his extraordinary life that was to come he would help more beings than he could count. Human and Pokémon alike. For he was a magnet for trouble...and because Murphy liked to screw with him.

* * *

Three days later we find Ash walking down the road from his house heading for professor Oak's Ranch, _"Now, why won't you tell me why we're going to the old guy's Ranch?" _Riolu asked while lazing on Ash's shoulder, _"It's not that I don't like the guy but we don't usually go to his house without a clear reason." _Pichu looked curiously from his spot on Ash's other shoulder.

Ash shrugged, "Because it's a rest day and we don't have anything better to do."

Riolu and Pichu sweatdropped, _"Really?" _Riolu asked incredulously, _"You don't have any better reason for visiting the old guy?"_

Ash raised an eyebrow, "Should I have a better reason?" Ash questioned, "I mean. I'm bored and don't have anything better to do. I've finished my last set of books, it's a rest day and it's been awhile since I last played with another kid. Visiting professor Oak will be fun and I might learn something new from him." Ash shrugged, "That's a good enough reason for me."

Riolu conceded, _"All right. That's a pretty good reason." _Pichu nodded.

Ash smiled, "Besides, there's always lot's of Pokémon in the fields by professor Oak's Ranch. It's bound to be interesting. We might even have the chance to battle one of the wild Pokémon there."

Riolu smirked, _"Oh, this just might be fun after all. Beating the crap out of opponents is always enjoyable." _He said confidently.

Pichu crossed his arms and turned his head to the side, "Pi Pichu. _(You're so arrogant. Your ego is to big for your head)_."

Riolu got a tick mark and straightened from his slouched position, anger pulsing across his face, _"Repeat that! I dare you!"_

Ash winced. Riolu had said that a bit to hard, "What did he say?"

Riolu fumed, _"He called me an arrogant ass with an ego to big for my head."_

Ash chuckled and Pichu giggled, "You'll have to admit. What you just said was pretty arrogant."

Riolu huffed and looked away, _"It wasn't meant that way! It was just a smart ass remark!"_

Ash laughed, "So you finally admit that you're smart ass! It's about time!"

Riolu's tick mark doubled in size, _"That's it! You're going to get it Ash Ketchum!"_ Riolu jumped from Ash's shoulder, launching himself up high into the air and opened his palm wide. He came screaming back down, intending to smash his palm into Ash's head. To bad for him he forget something, or someone, in his haste to get back at Ash.

Pichu grinned as his tiny pink cheeks sparked with blue electricity, "Pi Pichu! _(Watch where you're going)_!" He exclaimed as he launched his Thunder Wave at Riolu. The blue bolts of lightning arched away from the Tiny Mouse Pokémon, and aimed for Riolu who was way to close to dodge and struck Riolu. Riolu let out a shocked gasp and fell helplessly from the sky, completely paralyzed. Luckily, he didn't fall to the ground as Ash caught him in his arms.

Ash grinned at his paralyzed starter, "Now, what have we learned?"

Riolu growled and Pichu giggled at the question, _"To never give into anger and to keep a look out for tiny yellow rodents."_

Now it was Pichu's turn to get a tick mark on his forehead. Ash laughed, "Well, I was thinking more along the lines of 'never raise a hand or paw to your trainer in violence' but that works two I suppose."

Pichu growled, his cheeks were sparking again as he gave the vulnerable Riolu the evil eye, "Pi Pichu Pi! _(Censored)_" The special Pichu threatened. Riolu's eyes shrank into pin pricks in clear fear.

Ash picked up on this, "What did he say?"

Riolu tried to shake his head but couldn't because he was still paralyzed, _"I'd rather not repeat it."_

Ash's eyebrows merged with his hairline. It wasn't often that Riolu reacted in such a matter. He shrugged and smiled. It was funny at least.

Ash continued walking and within ten minutes he had reached the famed professor's Ranch. By this time Riolu had recovered from his paralyzes and was once again riding Ash's shoulder. All though, he was giving Pichu the evil eye the entire remaining way to the Ranch. Pichu grinned sweetly back. Riolu fumed, pissed of.

Ash smiled and rang the doorbell. It took only half a minute before Oak opened the door. The old researcher smiled at the aspiring trainer, "Hey Ash. How are you? What's brings you here?"

Before Ash had a chance to answer Riolu responded first, _"Hey old guy, not going to ask how me and Pichu are?"_

Oak's eyebrow twitched and his nostrils flared, "Don't call me an old guy! I'm not old!"

Riolu snickered, _"You're graying hair and your balding head says otherwise old guy."_

Oak's eyebrows started to twitch rampantly. Ash looked incredulously at Riolu and Pichu was trying to muffle his giggles behind his tiny paws, "You're only as old as you feel!" Oak shot back, "And I feel just as young as I did when I first left on my Pokémon journey."

Riolu laughed, _"So, you still feel like a ten-year old. I knew you something wasn't right in that head of yours!"_

Oak became red in the face. His eyebrows were twitching rapidly, his nostrils were flaring in anger and he was slowly grinding his teeth. Before Riolu had the chance to continue egging on the professor Ash's hand clamped down over the Emanation Pokémon's mouth, preventing him from speaking, "Just ignore him professor. He's an ass."

Oak took a deep breath and nodded. He looked solely at Ash while ignoring Riolu who was trying and failing to pry Ash's hand from his mouth, "Well, Ash. Why did you come to visit me?"

Ash shrugged, "I've nothing better to do and it's a rest day. I just wanted to wander around in the fields behind your Ranch to look at the Pokémon there."

Oak raised an eyebrow, "You do know that the Pokémon in the fields behind my Ranch are not all wild Pokémon, right? You can't go around attacking or trying to catch everything that catches your eyes."

Ash smiled, "Of course I know that." He said as he shrugged his shoulder, drawing Oak's attention to Ash's Spiky Eared Pichu and Riolu who Ash was still preventing from speaking.

Oak scowled at Riolu before shaking his head. He turned his eyes back to Ash, "Oh, all right then. Oh, my grandson Gary is also playing in the fields at the moment. If you run into him please remind him that his mother is coming to pick him up at noon. He often forgets about that kind of stuff."

Ash nodded as he tried to remember what Gary looked like. He didn't have much interaction with Oak's grandson. He had of course seen him a couple of times and even played with him once or twice but that had been some time ago. If he remembered it right he was the same age as him, had brown hair in somewhat the same style as Richard's blond hair and had green eyes. That should be more than enough to recognize the kid, "Of course professor Oak."

Oak smiled and stepped aside, allowing Ash to enter. Ash grinned and practically ran through the door and past the smiling Pokémon professor, "Thanks professor!" He yelled in thanks. Oak got a tick mark. He could deal with people calling him 'professor Oak' but he hated it if someone just called him professor. It made him feel old! And he was not old! With a huff the professor made his way back to his lab.

Only until Ash sprinted through the back door leading to the fields behind the Ranch did he finally release the hand clamping down over Riolu's mouth. The jackal-like Pokémon gasped as he sucked in fresh air. He glared at Ash as soon as he got his breath, _"You ass! I was just joking with him!"_

Ash rolled his eyes, "Well, he didn't like it. If you had continued he might just have turned us away. I've no intentions of getting bored today because of your big mouth." Pichu laughed and Riolu huffed at him.

Ash grinned, "Anyway, let's go have some fun!" With a happy whoop Ash took of sprinting with Pichu and Riolu who had calmed down already, eagerly clinging onto his shoulders.

* * *

Gary Oak grinned as he played a game of hide and seek with a trio of Nidoran. He came here often so he was familiar with the Nidoran and they were familiar with him. He played often with them. They were great friends of his. They would always have time to play with him and he would often bring them Pokétreats in turn.

He was currently hiding behind some dense bushes at the edge of the clearing that the Nidoran lived in. One Nidoran, the one that was 'it' this round was looking around in the high grasses. Gary had been able to see one of the other two Nidoran make a beeline for the sand line of the nearby pond and had buried himself in the sand. He hadn't been able to see were the last Nidoran had run of too.

Gary looked over the bushes, his hands grasping at the edge of the bush and his head only raised far enough that his eyes were only just visible. He saw Nidoran coming out of the tall grass, having found none of his playmates in there and looked around, trying to locate the others. Gary swiftly dove back down out of sight as Nidoran looked into his direction.

As soon as Gary felt that Nidoran wasn't looking into his direction anymore, probably ten minutes later, did he dare to look over the edge of the bushes again. Nidoran wasn't looking into his direction anymore and was walking towards the beach front, sniffing the air as he tried to find one of his Nidoran friends through their smell.

Nidoran kept on walking, guided by the faint smell from one of his friends. His steps took him closer and closer to his quarry. He stopped and his eyes narrowed. The trail ended here, but there wasn't anything here. Only sand and stones. The Nidoran looked around, confused that the smell of his friend had just stopped. The Nidoran took another sniff and his eyes widened. The smell was _much _stronger than before, strong enough as if he was right on top of his friend. His eyes widened in comprehension. Nidoran grinned and drove his horn down into the sand. His grin got wider as it made shallow contact with his friends horn. The Nidoran in the sand, knowing that he was found, dug himself out after his friend withdrew his horn and took a couple of steps back. The Nidoran shook himself to get the sand of off him. Both Nidoran grinned at the other and laughed.

Gary smiled from his spot from behind the bushes. The kind moment was shattered as a shriek echoed across the woods and the plains, a shriek of pain and panick. Gary felt himself become cold as he realized it was the final Nidoran that had hidden himself that had shrieked.

Without thinking Gary spun on his heel and bolted the woods in. He ran through bushes and around trees as he tried to pinpoint the area he believed the shriek had come from. The two Nidoran had quickly heard him leave his hiding spot and had run after him.

Gary bursted through a couple of bushes and came into another clearing with short grass and was surrounded by large trees. The sight that greeted him shocked him. In the clearing was the final Nidoran, battered and bruised, seemingly protecting what appeared to be a heavily injured wild Eevee from a flock of angry Spearow. Gary immediately saw that the Eevee wasn't ordinary. An ordinary Eevee had bruin and light bruin fur but this Eevee had white and grey coloured fur. But while Gary registered this somewhere in the back of his mind it wasn't really important at the moment. They needed help! The intention in the Spearow's eyes was with lethal intent!

One Spearow out of the dozens preying on the wounded Pokémon dived towards the Eevee, sharp beak ready to peck the poor thing to death. Gary acted immediately, he shot forwards intending to somehow stop the attack, but it turned out to be unnecessary.

Nidoran jumped back, landing right in front of the injured Shiny Eevee and rammed his horn into the rapidly closing in Spearow. Spearow shrieked in pain as the horn stabbed into his stomach. Nidoran threw the Spearow away. As soon as the Spearow landed it again cried out in pain as a sickly purple energy sparked across it's body. Spearow had just been poisoned by Nidoran's Poison Point Ability, taking it out from the fight.

Gary didn't stop running towards Nidoran and Eevee. He had to help them! Half a dozen Spearow suddenly dove for the pair of injured Pokémon and Gary was to far away to do anything. Nidoran defiantly stood his ground to face them head one. Suddenly, purple glowing needles came out of nowhere and struck the first two Spearow's, the others dove out of the way of the hail of Poison Sting.

Gary stopped running in surprise and looked over his shoulder in the direction the attack had come from. He was shocked to see the other two Nidoran already running into their direction with their maws wide open as they used Poison Sting to protect their friend and to keep the Spearow at bay.

Gary got over his surprise and immediately continued on running. The two Nidoran kept firing bursts of Poison Sting to keep the flock of Spearow at bay and made their way as fast as they could to their injured friend. Gary arrived first and crouched down to examine the injured Eevee. He winced at what he saw. Bruises and cuts adorned the Eevee's body and he could see that one of it's paws was twisted at an odd angle. The little one whimpered in pain and looked pleadingly at him. Gary immediately picked up the injured white and grey coloured Eevee and called out towards the injured Nidoran, "Nidoran! Can you still run?!"

Nidoran nodded and immediately came running. Gary nodded back, turned on his heel and took of running with the injured Eevee in his arms and Nidoran running besides him. Meanwhile the other two Nidoran stopped their wave of Poison Sting attacks and made a break for Gary's group. They joined up with them and took of running with them out of the clearing and into the woods, the flock of Spearow's that was now really pissed of in hot pursued.

Gary ran as if his life depended on it, which might just be true, with the three Nidoran friends besides him. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the flock of Spearow was still pursuing them. Gary looked down at the Eevee in his arms and his eyes hardened. He would save Eevee no matter what!

Suddenly, the group burst out into another clearing and ran into the center of the clearing. They would have continued running if another group of Spearow's hadn't just appeared right in front of them, cutting them of. They where shocked to see another group of Spearow's blocking their path, _'They must have broken of from the main group and have flown over the trees in order to cut us off while the others pursued us through the woods!' _Gary realized as he started to panick.

Swiftly, the other group of Spearow's had caught up with them and immediately fanned out to surround the group. Gary looked around at the angry flock of Flying and Normal-Type Pokémon surrounding them, cutting off all paths of escape. He was now in full-blown panick mode as he looked around wildly for any escape route. He saw none.

As one the entire flock dived at them from all directions. There was no way to dodge. The Spearow tore into them with a vengeance, using their sharp and hooked beaks to maximum effect. Gary, and the Nidoran's cried out in pain as they were bombarded from every direction, the sharp beaks leaving cuts all over their bodies as the Spearow swooped by them.

One Spearow rammed beak first into Gary's stomach. The air was driven from his lungs and he fell onto his back. To his shock and fear he had let go of Eevee because of the hard hit. Eevee fell harshly to the ground, causing Eevee to cry out in pain. Half a dozen Spearow's immediately dive bombed the highly injured Eevee. The Nidoran that had protected Eevee from the beginning ran through the rampaging flock of Spearow's, not caring about their attacks and made way for Eevee. He jumped in front of her, extremely tired and injured but dead set to defend her. The Nidoran's eyes widened when Gary leapt from his prone position on the ground and threw himself over Nidoran and Eevee, planning to use his own body as a Human shield against the Spearow's attacks.

The Spearow's tore into Gary's back. He cried out in pain as sharp beaks cut into his back as the Spearow swooped by. The Spearow continued on and turned around, planning to make another pass to attack Gary.

Just as they were about to tear into Gary again a voice called out over the chaos, "ThunderShock!" A bright bolt of lightning struck the six Spearow's, frying them. They fell to the ground as the super-effective attack took it's tole on them.

Immediately, the voice called out again, "Gust!" A harsh blow of wind suddenly blasted into the clearing, striking all the air born Spearow's. They cried out in pain as the harsh winds carried them away from Gary, the Nidoran's and Eevee.

"Gary!" Gary looked up as Ash came running into the clearing, Riolu still on his shoulder, Pichu running besides him and Pidgey high up in the air with her wings spread wide.

Gary straightened himself while wincing in pain from the cuts all across his back. He picked Eevee back up again and turned to their would be saviour. To his surprise it was a boy his own age, he believed his name was Ash, with three Pokémon who he obviously commanded. It was only because of the situation he found himself in why he didn't give the fact that a boy his own age was Pokémon trainer any thought.

Ash came to a stop a short ways away from Gary, "Are you all right!?"

Gay nodded, "I'm fine, just a few cuts. But Eevee needs help right now!"

Ash looked at the Shiny Eevee and winced at her clear and heavy injuries. He nodded, "Right! My Pokémon will cover us and gather the others while you make a break for it! Ready!?"

Gary nodded back, "Ready!"

Suddenly, Riolu jumped from Ash's shoulder, his palm lighting up as he readied Force Palm. He surged over Gary's head and struck down the Spearow that was about to ram into his back with his Force Palm, _"Less talking more running!"_ He hollered at them.

Gary, while being extremely shocked that a Pokémon had just somehow talked to him, didn't question the command and immediately took of running. Meanwhile, Pichu had jumped back onto Ash's shoulder.

Pidgey dove down with a Quick-Attack and struck a Spearow in the side that had been rushing up on the Nidoran that had been protecting Eevee. The Nidoran nodded in thanks to Pidgey and sprinted after Gary. His two Nidoran friends copied his actions and ran as fast as they could after him. The Spearow's tried to attack the injured Pokémon but Riolu and Pidgey tag-teamed to protect them. Riolu knocked them from the sky with rapid Force Palm attacks and Pidgey kept large groups at bay with the use of Gust.

As soon as the Nidoran had dissapeared into the treeline Riolu and Pidgey quickly knocked away the Spearow's that they were battling and ran to Ash who was waiting on them at the edge of the clearing.

"ThunderShock!" Ash commanded. Pichu nodded and jumped up high from his shoulder. His pink cheeks sparked violently as he released a tremendous bolt of lightning at an incoming group of Spearow's. They were way to close to dodge the lightning bolt and where struck head one, frying them. They dropped out cold to the ground.

"Gust!" Ash shouted. Pidgey who was now flying besides him nodded and flapped her wings rapidly at the converging flock of Spearow's creating a powerful Gust attack. The harsh torrents of wind blew the entire flock back.

"Double Team!" Ash ordered. Riolu nodded and readied his energy. Suddenly, his form seemed to blur and then out of nowhere there were thirty copies of Riolu in the clearing separated in two lines of fifteen, "And now Force Palm!" The thirty Riolu's jumped in perfect synchronization, their right arms pulled back with their palms lighting up with the power of Force Palm. The Spearow's, not knowing which one was real, evaded every single Riolu.

All the Riolu's landed and immediately jumped back into the air, palms raised to strike the Spearow's down. Again, the Spearow's dodged and then started to counter attack with Peck and Fury Attack's. In the ensuing chaos it took the flock of Spearow's five minutes to dispel all the illusionary copies and it took the Spearow's five minutes to notice that they were fighting _only _copies. At the same time they noticed that, except for themselves, the clearing was deserted. Their prey had fled using the confusion the Double Team had made.

And all though they were pissed and they searched everywhere, they couldn't find their prey.

They had gotten away.

* * *

Gary looked very somber as he waited outside of his grandfathers private room. He was leaning against the wall. His shirt had been taken of and his wounds had been cleaned and bandaged. The three Nidoran sat on his left besides him on the floor. Ash stood to his right, also leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. His Pichu sat on his left shoulder and his Riolu sat on his right shoulder.

He felt terrible. He had failed in protecting Eevee and because of his own failings Eevee had gotten hurt even more. He was constantly going over what had happened and what he could have done to some how make it better, but no matter how much he thought about it he couldn't come up with a way he could have come out of that situation with the Spearow's any better then he had. He couldn't have acted any different and he had done his best, but considering Eevee's current condition it wasn't much of a consolation.

The three Nidoran had been healed by the machine that the Pokémon Center's used but Eevee's wounds where to severe to be healed that easily. His grandfather had to operate on Eevee is she was to survive the night. He wasn't a Pokémon doctor by any means but he was very much versed in the physiology of all Pokémon and had some rather impressive skills as a medic. Nurse Joy of Viridian City would take at least two hours before she could be at Pallet Town at the earliest. That could be too late for Eevee. His grandfather was Eevee's only hope at surviving.

His self loathing must have been obvious because Ash's Riolu turned towards him with empathy clear in his eyes, _"Hey, don't beat yourself up. You did the best that you could."_

Gary turned to look at Riolu as everyone listened to the conversation that was to come, "Am I that obvious?" He had already been informed and had experienced Riolu's ability to speak with Humans so he wasn't surprised at all.

Riolu shook his head with a dry chuckle, _"I'm not called the Emanation Pokémon for nothing. I can see your emotions as clear as day."_

Gary grunted. He was silent for a moment before sighing loudely, "I know that I couldn't have done anything else to help Eevee, but that doesn't take away that I feel guilty that I failed her."

Riolu looked incredulously at him, _"Failed her. You used your own body as a shield to protect her! She owes you more than she could ever repay. You didn't fail her, if she had been injured even more she would have died long before now. She's still alive because you protected her."_

Before Gary had the chance to properly process what Riolu had told him the door of his grandfather's private room slowly opened. Everyone relaxed as they saw the old mans small smile.

Oak smiled at them, "Well, I'm happy to say that Eevee will be making a full recovery without any lasting injuries."

Gary released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, "Thank Arceus. Can we see her?"

Oak thought about it for a second before nodding, "You can see her but don't touch her. Her body is covered in injuries."

The entire group nodded. Gary, Ash, with his Pokémon riding his shoulders, the three Nidoran's and then Oak entered the small private room. The room was small with wooden walls painted white. It had one decent sized desk with a lot of stuff cluttering it. There where two very big shelves filled to the brim with books about everything Pokémon related.

There were multiple windows in the room that lighted the place up, making Eevee's form easy to spot. She laid silently in a small bed, actually Gary's old crib that Oak had hastily gotten from the attic in the center of the room.

The group walked forwards silently in order to not end up waking Eevee from her slumber. Gary studied her form. He winced at what he saw. On every single part of her body were bandages, her left front paw was in a cast and he was sure he could see some light swelling on the side of Eevee's face two.

He stepped forwards to the edge of the crib and leaned over the protective railing to touch her, but held his hand a few inches from Eevee's face, remembering that he wasn't supposed to touch her. Gary bowed his had, his bangs concealing his eyes, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. Please, forgive me." He was about to continue talking but something wet had made contact with his hand. He looked up, shocked to see that Eevee was awake and licking his hand.

"Vee vee. _(Thank you)_." Eevee said with a light girly voice.

Riolu jumped from Ash's shoulder and onto the railing of the crib. Eevee stopped licking Gary's hand and turned her attention to Riolu, _"How're you feeling." _The Emanation Pokémon asked.

The white and grey coloured Eevee's eyes widened as she heard Riolu's voice inside her head, _'Did you just talk directly to my mind?' _Eevee thought shocked. She guessed that if this Pokémon could talk directly to her mind then he would also be able to pick up her thoughts as well.

Riolu nodded. Eevee looked strangely at him, _'How? You don't look like a Phsyschic-Type.'_

Riolu shrugged, _"It's an...ability that I have. However...you didn't answer my question."_

_'Look at me.' _Eevee deadpanned, _'How do you think I feel.'_

Riolu chuckled and didn't answer the pointless question.

Eevee's eyes trailed back to Gary who was still looking at her with his hand close by her face. She crawled forwards and placed her head in the palm of his hand. allowing him to pet her, _'This Human. The one that protected me. What's his name?'_

Riolu blinked, _"Gary. His name is Gary."_

_'Gary...that's a nice name.' _Eevee commented. She turned her eyes towards Riolu, _'You...what's your name?'_

Riolu smiled, _"I'm Riolu."_

_'Riolu, I need you to translate for me.'_

Riolu cocked his head to the side in surprise but nodded anyway, _"Of course."_

Eevee smiled at him, _'Thanks.'_

Riolu turned towards the group and spoke to all of them through his Aura, _"Everyone, Eevee has asked me to translate something she wants to tell us. So listen up."_

Everyone listened intently to Riolu. Riolu paused as Eevee thought up what she wanted Riolu to tell them, _"Okay, Eevee is telling me that's she thanks us for saving her but she also wants to ask for a favor."_

Riolu turned to Gary _"To be more precise, she wants to ask Gary for a favor." _Said boy looked surprised. Riolu paused, _"She's telling me that the Spearow's had destroyed her home in woods when they attacked her. As such she doesn't have a place to go back to."_

Oak smiled, having guessed what Eevee was going to ask and having no problem with it, "Well, of course she can stay until we have found a new home for her. She would have to stay until she has recovered completely anyway."

Riolu shook his head, _"That's not what she was going to ask."_ Riolu looked Gary who was still petting Eevee in the eyes, _"She wants to stay with Gary. She wants for you to become her trainer."_

Gary choked on the air he was breathing and the rest looked surprised to varying degrees, "She wants what!?" Gary exclaimed, shocked.

Riolu chuckled, _"She wants you to take her in and become your Pokémon."_

"But I'm way to young to become a Pokémon trainer..."

Ash raised an eyebrow, "I'm a Pokémon trainer and we're the same age. If I can be a trainer at my age then so can you."

Gary stilled and looked at Eevee who was looking pleadingly at him. Gary had to hold himself back. She looked so cute, "If she truly wants this..."

The Shiny Eevee made an adorable sound and rubbed her face into the palm of Gary's hand, meaning yes. Gary laughed, feeling excited at becoming a Pokémon trainer, "Then I would love to become her trainer." He finished his sentence.

Oak smiled, "I'll go and get the stuff you will need as Pokémon trainer, Gary. I'm afraid, though, that you can't make it official yet. You can't capture Eevee in her current condition."

Gary nodded, not taking his eyes of off Eevee. Oak nodded back and left the private room to go get the stuff Gary would need as a trainer.

Ash chuckled, "Now I'm no longer the only trainer at my age in Pallet Town." He pouted, "No fair." Everyone laughed.

Gary turned to Ash, "Hey, Ash." Ash looked back at him, "I haven't had the chance yet to thank you for saving us have I?"

Ash smiled, "You don't have to thank me Gary. You needed help and I wouldn't be able to life with myself if I did nothing."

Gary shook his head, "If you hadn't stepped in who knows what could have happened. I...just thank you, Ash."

Before Ash had a chance to respond the door of the private room opened. Oak walked in, holding six shrunken Pokéballs in his left hand and a Pokédex in his right hand. He walked towards Gary and handed them to the newest trainer in the room. Gary smiled and put the Pokéballs and Pokédex in his pockets.

"Nido _(Hey, I want to be your Pokémon two)_!" One of the Nidoran suddenly exclaimed with a deep manly voice, the one that had protected Eevee from the beginning as he stepped forwards towards Gary, "Nido Nido ran. (Please, capture me and become my trainer)!"

Everyone blinked and Ash was about ask Riolu for a translation but the Emanation cut him off with a laugh, _"Ha ha! It looks like Eevee wasn't the only one impressed by you Gary! Nidoran also wants to become your Pokémon!"_

Gary looked at Nidoran, smiling, "Is that true, Nidoran?" Nidoran nodded, "What about your friends?" Nidoran looked towards his two Nidoran friends. They nodded at him. It was clear to everyone in the room that they understood, "Then come here." Gary said and took out a Pokéball. Nidoran smiled and happily walked to Gary until he was right in front of him. Gary crouched and enlarged the Pokéball with a push of a button. He held it out to Nidoran. Nidoran smiled and pushed his horn against the Pokéball's center button and allowed himself to be captured. Gary smiled at the Pokéball and shrunk it again. He clipped it to his belt.

Ash smiled at Gary, "I hope that when Eevee is healed that we can have a battle Gary. After of course you have gotten some experience as a trainer." Ash held out his fist at Gary, "Friends?"

Gary grinned fiercely and bumped fists with Ash, "Friends." The two aspiring trainer smiled at each other as an unbreakable friendship and rivalry was formed. The rest smiled at the scene.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you liked it.**

**Your dearest,**

**Theblazinghope2235. **


	7. Chapter 7: Party Chrashers

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

"Speech"

_(PokéSpeech)_

_'Thoughts'_

_"Telepathy"_

**Notice: Date 10-02-2013. Now, if chapter 7 has now been properly uploaded you're probably wondering what went wrong when I tried to upload this the day before. There seems to be some kind of error on Fanfiction that causes a story to be flagged as updated if you post the next chapter but it won't upload the latest chapter for some reason. I don't know what the problem is but I have tried to delete chapter 7 and repost it a dozen times but it isn't working. I hope none of you thought that I was doing this on purpose. I just hope that chapter 7 has finally been uploaded correctly.**

I've got some very exciting news for you all. _ASH WILL LEAVE ON HIS POKÉMON JOURNEY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER. THE MAIN ANIMA STORY LINE WILL BLAST OF THEN_. I hope you're just as excited about it as I am. Anyway, enjoy chapter seven in the mean time.

* * *

Ash yawned as he rolled onto his side, the light of the newly risen sun filtering through the windows of his room and into his face as he laid in bed, waking him up. Ash's face crunched up in irritation. He turned away from the bright light, trying to fall asleep again.

_"Hey sleepy head! Time to wake up!" _Only for Riolu's voice to suddenly come crashing into his head. Ash's eyes suddenly snapped open and he growled. He abruptly sat up right in bed, throwing his blanket of off him in the process and making eye contact with the fiercely grinning Riolu who was standing on the far edges of his bed with Pichu standing behind him.

"Give me one reason not to _triple_ your training regiment for the next month." Ash growled lowly at his sometimes infuriating starter. Like Riolu's Hidden Ability suggested he was a true prankster.

Riolu laughed, _"Because you would punish me even more if I didn't wake you up early on your birthday."_ The jackal-like Pokémon said with a fierce grin.

Ash blinked and his eyes widened. He looked towards the calendar hanging on the wall, "Holy shit." He said lowly, "It _is _my birthday." He said, shocked. How could he have forgotten his own birthday for fuck's sake? He had just turned eight years old.

Riolu, seeing his trainers shocked look, started cackling, _"You actually _forgot_ your own birthday?! That's rich!" _Riolu held his stomach as he fell over laughing his ass off.

Pichu didn't start laughing and smiled warmly at his trainer. He happily bounded up to him, jumped and hugged the aspiring trainer and Aura Guardian around the neck, "Pi Pi Pichu! _(Happy birthday)_!" The Tiny Mouse Pokémon exclaimed happily.

Ash smiled and petted Pichu on his head. It was easy to figure out what the little guy had said, "Thanks Pichu." The little guy made an adorable sound and jumped back away from him.

Riolu had by this time stopped laughing and had picked himself up from the ground. He grinned and practically tackled Ash. Said boy caught Riolu, wrapping his arms around his starter as he fell back down into his bed, _"Happy birthday my awesome trainer!" _Ash smiled at his starter.

"Thanks Riolu." He said as he said back up right again. He placed Riolu besides him on the bed and petted him on the head. He looked at both his Pokémon and smiled, "Let's go downstairs. I wonder what mom has planned for today."

Both Riolu and Pichu smiled and practically ran out of his room ahead of him. Ash got out of bed and put on his clothes after having thrown away his pajamas. Barely seconds later the excited now eight year old boy was running down the stairs.

The moment he came down stairs his nose was hit with a delicious smell that he recognized immediately. He grinned, _'Pancakes!' _He ran into the kitchen and was greeted with the sight of his mother heaping up entire pile pancakes on a plate on the table.

His mother turned to him with a smile on her face, "Happy birthday sweetie! I hope you'll like what I made for breakfast." Ash ran up to his mother and hugged her around her waist in answer. Delia hugged him back, she then crouched and kissed him on the forehead, "Enjoy your breakfast honey. After dinner you'll need to freshen up a bit before the party. It's being held at professor Oak's Ranch and before you ask Oak had offered his place to hold to party to me as a 'thank you' for saving Gary a couple of months back."

Ash nodded and made way for the table. Before he sat down, though, he unclipped a Pokéball from his belt and opened it to release his third Pokémon. His Flying and Normal-Type appeared with a small cry and plopped down on the ground, her sharp talons lightly scraping the tiled floor. Pidgeotto bowed her head to him in greeting and turned to make way for own food that Delia had already made for her. Ash smiled, remembering when she had evolved a month ago.

* * *

_Flashback_.

Once again, Riolu and Pidgey were fighting each other. Practicing for when they would need to perform in real life battles.

Riolu and Pidgey now fought each other every three days in place of every day like they did at the beginning of their training. The inclusion of Pichu in the team meant that they had to rotate who fought who every day. Sometimes they even fought a three-way battle among each other. Those battles were rather hectic, though. So, Ash always had to exit the clearing otherwise he would get caught in the crossfire.

Ash sat under a tree to the side. Pichu was in his lap, observing the battle between friends alongside his trainer.

Riolu jumped at Pidgey who was high up in the air, his palm pulled back and glowing with the power of Force Palm. Pidgey flapped her wings wildly as she used Gust and knocked him back to the ground. Riolu flipped in mid-air and landed firmly on his two feet. Suddenly, Riolu disappeared and then the entire clearing was filled with Riolu's. The Emanation Pokémon had used Double Team. His fake copies stood on the ground, the trees and the branches. The entire clearing was filled with them.

Pidgey's piercing eyes narrowed. This had become somewhat of a recurring problem during her battles with Riolu. When she first heard that Riolu was learning Double Team she had laughed. But when she first faced Riolu after he had learned it she learned quickly how devastatingly useful move it could be. Not knowing which one was real she had tried to strike all of them only to hit the fake ones and then for the real one to strike at her from behind. Every time she got a beat on the genuine article he would just use Double Team and disappear, only for his copies to distract her and for Riolu to strike when she wasn't looking. The first battle he had used it she was soundly defeated by the Jackal-like Pokémon.

After some time she had managed to counter the move somewhat by using Sand-Attack on the entire clearing. The dust cloud created by the attack would distort the copies while she was perfectly able to see thanks too her Keen Eye Ability, allowing her to locate the original. The advantage was dulled, though, by Riolu's Aura abilities because he would still be able to sense her coming through the cloud of dirt. Meaning that she wouldn't be able to surprise the Emanation Pokémon. On top of that she had to find the opening needed to actuallu be able to use Sand-Attack. The fact that she had to evade all the Riolu's jumping for her because she didn't know which one was real made it even harder to find that opening.

Pidgey tucked in her wings and dive bombed to the ground, her form high lighted in white energy and a white trail of light following in her wake as she used Quick-Attack to speed up her descent.

As expected Riolu's copies all jumped for her. She swiveled, increased her speed, decreased her speed and adjusted her flight path minutely as she dodged to evade every single one of them.

As she was but a meter away from the ground and she was about to use Sand-Attack Pidgey cried out in surprise as something made contact with her side. She was pushed to the side, Riolu firmly planted into her side and firmly hanging onto her. Pidgey cried out in pain as her other side made contact with the ground, skidding on it and making a trench. Riolu who had clung onto her through her entire fall pulled his palm back that was already glowing with Force Palm. Pidgey's eyes widened, knowing what was coming. Riolu smirked and slammed his palm into Pidgey's side. For one second nothing happened and then suddenly the power stored in Riolu's palm practically detonated and flung her away from Riolu. Again, she skidded across the ground and rolled to a stop at least a dozen meters away from Riolu.

Pidgey panted and dragged herself with a lot of effort in a standing position. Already hearing Riolu running up to her she immediately took flight and swiftly tried to fly up high enough to get out of Riolu's jumping range.

She was a little to late.

Pidgey looked up and was shocked to see that Riolu was already above her. He grinned and flipped around, planting his feet firmly on a high hanging branch and then he pushed of, practically catapulting himself to Pidgey, his palm held to his right, already glowing with Force Palm.

Pidgey acted as fast as she could. Her wings started to shine a silvery-grey as they hardened and took on steel like qualities as she used Steel Wing. She placed her right-wing in front of her, intending to use it as a shield.

Riolu closed in on her within the blink of an eye and slammed his Force Palm into her improvised shield. His momentum and the force behind the attack made them both rocket to the ground. Both slammed into the ground, making a dust cloud that hid them from sight. Then the dust cloud lighted up and expanded a bit as the power of Force Palm detonated. The dust settled ten seconds later, revealing an suprising sight.

Pidgey had her talons deeply etched into the soil as she valiantly held her ground against Riolu who was trying to push her back just as hard. Her Steel Wing, scuffed up and blackened by the Force Palm, held firmly against Riolu's palm.

Pidgey growled as she started to lose ground to the Emanation Pokémon in their struggle. Then Riolu pulled his other arm back, his left palm already shining with the power of Force Palm. Pidgey squawked and brought her right-wing, that was also shining with the power of Steel Wing, forwards and used it to bolster her defensive shield. Riolu's Force Palm impacted against her two Steel Wing hardened wings shield with a loud metallic clang. For a second nothing happened, then the power of Force Palm detonated against Pidgey's shields. The bright yellow light of the Force Palm swelled in size and grew to such a size that it hid Pidgey and Riolu from sight once again.

Once the light had expended it's energy it quickly faded to show both Riolu and Pidgey once more, both still locked in their struggle. Pidgey's steel hardened wings were trembling heavily and Riolu was pushing hard. He was winning, _'No! I will not lose another battle to this dog!' _She thought fiercely as she surged forwards, putting all her strength in this one moment. Riolu's eyes widened as he was actually being _pushed _back while he firmly had the advantage but a second ago!

Riolu's eyes widened even further as he observed Pidgey's Steel Wing empowered wings suddenly turn from their grey glow to a bright white glow. He looked up, shocked to see that Pidgey's entire body was glowing white. And than it started to enlarge...

Ash's who had been watching the fight dutifully from the sidelines eyes widened as he realized what was going on.

"Pidgeotto! _(What a trill)_!" The freshly evolved Flying and Normal-Type cried victoriously as soon as the white glow receded to show her new form. She swung her wings, that where now nearly three times their former size wide. Flinging the now quite a bit smaller Riolu away with suprising ease.

The shocked Riolu couldn't recover fast enough and made a hard impact with the trunk of a tree with his arms and legs spread wide against it. A second later he fell to the ground in a heap. All was silent for but a moment, before Riolu's eyes snapped open and he surged to his feet. Riolu's deep red eyes narrowed at his now far more powerful opponent.

Pidgeotto is a large raptor-like bird, almost three times the size of a Pidgey. While it's primary color is brown, her plumage is much more elaborate than it was in her pre-evolution. Her head-crest is much longer than it was when she was a Pidgey and now has a reddish color. The plumage of her tail is also quite colorful, alternating between red and yellow. Other than her ornamental plumage, her basic coloration is similar to a Pidgey, with pinkish-gray feet and black markings around her eyes. Pidgeotto also has powerful talons to grasp prey so these claws can inflict a lot of damage.

Ash who was still looking on with wide eyes quickly fished for his Pokédex. He trained it at his newly and his first Pokémon ever to evolve. The Pokédex activated with a beep while displaying an image of Pidgeotto on it's screen, "Pidgeotto, the Bird of Prey Pokémon. After evolution, Pidgeotto assumes it's predatory niche. It claims a sprawling territory, more than 60 miles wide in diameter, and fiercely defends it from intruders. One must be careful when moving through the territory of a Pidgeotto; while there is no evidence that they would attack a human, their sharp claws could cause a lot of damage. Although its nest is usually in the center of its territory, it circles its territory throughout the day, looking out for prey and intruders."

A smile stretched across Ash's face as he watched even more intently than before, giddy to see his newly evolved Pidgeotto in action.

Pidgeotto flapped her wings, lifting up of off the ground for a couple of meters, before she darted forwards with immense speed as she used Quick-Attack. Riolu dug his feet deeply into the ground and then shot of, his left palm already glowing with Force Palm. He jumped and Pidgeotto went even faster. With a mighty clash and an explosion the two Pokémon met in the center of the clearing.

All the while, Pichu looked on in amazement and wonder.

_End Flashback_.

* * *

It was a magical scene to behold, the evolution of a Pokémon. Just as beautiful as when he had watched Riolu's hatching. Ash's smile widened even further as he thought about that incredible experience. He took his seat and immediately started to gorge himself on his mother's delicious pancakes. Delia smiled at him and took her own seat and started eating.

Pidgeotto wasn't the only one that had changed either. Ash had made great strides in his goal to become an Aura Guardian in the last seven months. He could now see up to one-hundred meters away if he sat still and focused. He had progressed far enough that he could occasionally hear the thoughts of people and Pokémon around him without even meaning too. Riolu had explained to him that he would occasionally pick up people's thoughts without trying to. This couldn't be helped as an Aura user. In a few months he would start trying to learn how augment his strength and speed with his Aura.

Riolu, having seen his trainers progress in his Aura abilities, started wondering if he could increase his own Aura abilities as well. As such he had also started training to strengthen his own Aura capabilities, with some interesting results.

After the fife minute mark Ash started to eat a bit slower as he was slowly starting to get full. Ash looked to his side and smiled as he saw his three Pokémon eating their own food from their bowls. All three of them looked happy and healthy.

"Ash." Said boy looked back towards his mother as she called for his attention, "We'll have to leave with in twenty minutes. So, I need you to be ready by then." Ash nodded and resumed eating his mothers delicious pancakes.

Ten minutes later they had finished dinner. Delia went up stairs, to the bathroom to freshen up while Ash tended to his Pokémon. He himself didn't need much up keep to look presentable.

Almost another ten minutes later Delia came down the stairs. She stepped inside the kitchen and smiled as she watched her child play and talk with his Pokémon. As she saw her sons extremely wide smile and happy demeanour she felt herself practically light up on the inside. When he had first become a Pokémon trainer she was at first afraid that her son wouldn't be able to deal with the responsibility. But her fears where unfounded. Her son took to being a trainer like a fish takes to water and it made him so happy! All her doubts were laid to rest a long time ago.

"Ready to go, sweetie." She said, gaining her sons attention. Ash grinned at her and stood up straight. He returned Pidgeotto and Riolu and his Spiky eared Pichu jumped onto his shoulders.

Delia smiled and walked outside, her son walking besides her as they made way for professor Oak's ranche.

* * *

The walk to professor Oak's Ranch didn't even take five minutes. Delia rang the doorbell and within a second the door had been opened. It was obvious that Oak had been waiting on them. The old professor smiled widely at them, "Delia! Ash! You're right on time." He turned towards the young aspiring trainer and grinned at him, "Happy birthday Ash!" The professor reached forwards and messed with his hair. Ash laughed.

Oak stepped aside, allowing the mother and son to enter. They quickly made way for the massive fields that where the Ranche's backyard. Where a surprise was waiting.

"Happy birthday, Ash!" The Pallet Town citizens shouted as Ash walked through the door. The aspiring trainer actually stumbled back in surprise. He had expected far fewer people to be here this early. It looked as if entire Pallet Town had decided to show up early. Or maybe it wasn't so suprising at all. Pallet Town was a rather tight nit community. The small plain directly outside Professor Oak's lab had been adorned with lots of banners that said congratulating words to Ash. There were several tables with diverse foods and drinks lined up all over the place as well.

Ash grinned at all of them and shook their hands as all the people, more than a hundred at least, stepped forwards to congratulate him. Half an hour later he had finished greeting and thanking the last of the guests as they scattered out more over the open plain to have fun. Meanwhile, Delia was herding Ash to the gifts table, "Come on sweetie. It's time to unpack your gifts." Delia said. Ash grinned and practically ran to the massive wooden table in the centre of the party with a huge pile of gifts on it.

Ash took a seat at one of the many chairs at the table. Riolu and Pichu jumped from his shoulder and landed on the table, standing side by side as they watched their extremely happy trainer with smiles on their faces. Seeing this Ash remembered something. He unclipped Pidgeotto's Pokéball and released the avian, "Pidgeottooooo! (Happy birthday Ash)!" She shouted as she was released. She flapped her wings briefly and landed on the arm rest of the chair besides Ash. Ash smiled at her, he couldn't leave his beloved Pidgeotto out of the party now could he? She smiled back at him, well, she smiled as much as her beak allowed her too.

Ash's smile grew even further as he turned back to his pile of presents. With a happy grin he started unpacking his many gifts.

Delia stood to the side, watching her son with a smile on her face. Oak walked up to her. He smiled at the mother, "Hey, Delia." He said, getting her attention, "You seem to be enjoying yourself." The professor commented.

Delia laughed, "If Ash is happy, I'm happy." She answered.

Oak laughed, "Like a true mother should." He was silent for a moment before he started talking again, "He has matured greatly in the last year hasn't he."

Delia's smile turned slightly sad, "I know. The responsibility of being a trainer and needing to take care of someone else has been maturing him rapidly. That, and this party, just drives home the fact that he will be leaving home within two years."

Oak smiled, "That happens with all children. We, as parents, should enjoy the years we have with them."

Delia nodded, but still looked faintly sad. Oak remained silent and remained besides the mother. A couple of moments later they started to converse about lighter things. Like what ridiculously hilarious situations the Pokémon on the ranche had gotten into this week.

Meanwhile, at the gift table Ash was unpacking his gifts. Most gifts, as most people knew that he liked Pokémon a lot like most children his age, had something to do with Pokémon. There were a suprising amount of books in the mix as well. It was pretty well-known that Ash read a lot, so maybe it wasn't so suprising after all. There were also Pokémon dolls, toys, games and even a real life-sized Pokémon starter statues sets were included in the mix.

"Hey, Ash!" Ash turned to the side, grinning when he saw Gary approaching with his Shiny Eevee and Nidoran walking besides him, "Maybe it would be a good idea to slow down some. If you keep going like that you might just pull a muscle."

Ash snorted. Gary took a seat besides him. His Eevee jumped onto his lap while Gary bent over, picked op Nidoran, and placed him on the table. Said Nidoran grinned and made way for Riolu and Pichu.

Ash laughe, "Hey, Gary. I was wondering where you had run of to."

Gary shrugged while he petted Eevee, "My mother insisted that I play with my niece for a while. She's the youngest girl here so she's a bit lonely."

Ash grinned, "Troublesome, just like our battles. At least from your perspective."

Gary's eye brow twitched. Eevee, who had heard the remark, growled audibly. After a couple of months of having been a trainer Gary felt confident enough to challenge Ash to a battle. While Ash still had nearly half a years worth of training advantage he thought he had managed to close the gap between their Pokémon's training levels sufficiently enough to stand a chance against him.

He had been wrong, badly wrong.

While Gary was a naturally talented Pokémon trainer, just like Ash, he hadn't trained his Pokémon to the same level as Ash had. As soon as Eevee had recovered completely he had set his Pokémon on a training schedule similar to that of Ash but the half-year head start gave Ash a monstrous advantage over the grandson of professor Oak. Ash's Pokémon hit harder, moved faster, had more endurance, recovered faster and over all just out classed his Nidoran and Eevee. All three matches he had fought against Ash he had soundly lost, despite putting up on valiant struggle.

He was closing the gap in abilities, though. The stronger a Pokémon got the harder it became to make them even more powerful. In order to be succesful instead of mediocre the real talent of a trainer had to be not to be able to make your Pokémon strong really fast but to increase their strength even further away from the norm. Ash's Pokémon where still growing stronger every day, little by little, but their progress was slowing slightly two. Ash had remedied this by upping their training regiment of course but even then they didn't grow as fast as they had at the beginning of their training. Ash's Pokémon where still significantly stronger than Gary's but the gap between them was shrinking. Once it was equal, if it became equal, after all, it came down to how well they raised their Pokémon, it would come down to strategy who would win in an even fight between them

Gary growled lightly, "Do you always have to bring that up! It's annoying."

Ash laughed, "I need something to amuse myself with." He answered.

Gary snorted, "Whatever you say...Ashy-Boy."

Now Ash's eye brow twitched as Gary said that _hated _nickname, "And do you have to use that stupid nickname every time we meet?"

Gary laughed, "Oh, I just need something to amuse myself with."

"I should have seen that coming." Ash muttered.

Gary rolled his eyes, "Yes, yes you should have."

Ash glared at him, "You're an ass. You know that."

Gary snorted, "Says the Pokémon Master wannabee." Both trainers glared at the other for a tense few moments...before both bursted out laughing at their usual banter.

Both Delia and Oak smiled as they watched Ash's and Gary's interaction at a distance, "They have become great friends." Oak commented. Delia nodded.

The two remained silent after that, both enjoying the others company. Delia looked around and smiled as she saw everyone having fun. People were talking, eating and drinking happily as everyone clustered around in groups. She could see children playing around everywhere. Some tag and others hide and seek. In the corner of her eye she could see Riolu, Pidgeotto, Pichu, Nidoran and Eevee, who had joined them moments ago, having fun and talking to each other.

The mother smiled. Everyone was having fun.

* * *

A mile away, deep in the woods, hidden in the darkness of the forest, less happy and more sinister things where going on. Things that would be considered heinous to any self-respecting Pokémon trainer or any self-respecting person at all were happening not far from Ash's birthday party.

A Raticate cried out in pain as a black coloured stick struck it in it's stomach. Suddenly, the tip of the pitch black stick lighted up with blue coloured lightning that immediately struck Raticate. Again, Raticate cried out in pain as his entire body was enveloped with blue lightning as the lightning coursed through it's body. The enormous rat like Pokémon collapsed out cold.

The Team Rocket Grunt that had knocked out the wild Raticate sneered at the pitiful battered form and watched as it was dragged away by his Machoke. The extremely muscled Pokémon picked the Raticate up, holding him by the scruff of his neck. Machoke snorted in disdain and shoved the knocked out cold Raticate roughly into a cage. Machoke threw the cage door close, the door automatically locking itself.

The Team Rocket Grunt looked around and smirked. The operation was going perfectly. All around him where cages filled with wild Pokémon. The cages were stacked up in rows of five, all the Pokémon inside them were injured and in pain, _'Good, that will toughen them up.' _He thought.

There where eleven Team Rocket Grunts in the small clearing, including him and the ten Grunts under his command. All of them had their Pokémon out. This tallied up to sixteen Rattata's, six Raticate's, eight Zubat's, three Golbat's and his own Machoke under their command. The perfect strike force for this mission.

The mission was a simple one. It was a routine mission really. It was actually the mission most often used for new Grunts to prove themselves capable enough to join Team Rocket. They where here for a simple snatch them and bag them Pokémon run. The only thing that made this mission different from the norm was because of the location. Less than a mile away from the famous professor Oak's Ranch.

It wasn't a coincidence that they where here. There were bound to be powerful Pokémon in the fields around professor Oak's Ranch. The trainers that had started out in Pallet Town had of course sent Pokémon that they didn't need at the moment back to professor Oak. They where all now in the fields of the Ranch, just begging to be stolen. It was the perfect opportunity for them to steal some already well-trained Pokémon without the pesky interference off their trainers. So long as Oak didn't notice them this would be an easy mission.

They hadn't stolen captured Pokémon yet, though. The ones they had managed to capture just now where just wild Pokémon that made their home in the forest. As they cleaned out more and more of the woods they would move closer and closer too Oak's Ranch. Eventually they would come across well-trained and captured Pokémon that they would then steal. Simple really.

"Boss, this section has been cleaned out." One of the other Grunts reported to him.

The Boss Grunt nodded, "Good. We're moving up. To the next section." All the Grunts nodded at his command and started moving to the next section, their Pokémon obediently following them. The Pokémon in the cages would be picked up by the second team that was due to arrive at any moment. Freeing their team up to devote their attention solely to capturing and stealing Pokémon.

The next sector they had to be far more carefull. According to intel the next sector would be inhabited by captured Pokémon, and as such are much stronger than the wild ones they had dealt with up until now. The real work would begin now!

Unknown to the Team Rocket Strike Group, they had been spotted. A Pidgey that they had missed had seen the team from high up in the air. The Pidgey gasped in shock as she saw the heavily injured Pokémon in the dozens of cages. The Pidgey looked towards the team and immediately knew what they where doing and where they were heading. She turned around and took of as fast as she could to Oak's Ranche

* * *

Back at the party. Things where slowly starting to wind down. It was getting late, the sun was already going down the horizon, it's bodem half had disappeared beneath the line. A brilliant orange golden glow had settled on the clearing and the world.

Parents with young children had for the most part already left with their families. As a matter a fact, Gary and Ash where the only children remaining now at the party. Only about three dozen people where still there.

Gary and Ash sat in the grass and where chatting with each other. Their Pokémon sat by them. Professor Oak and Delia stood with a small group of six people at a nearby table. Oak was talking rapidly about his latest discoveries concerning Pokémon.

"My research shows that Kecleon actually uses a hybrid form of light reflection and changing it's body's colour to essentially become invisible to the naked eye..." The famous professor was saying but was cut off as a hard cry was heard from the forest. It got the attention of everyone in the clearing. Everyone stopped talking and turned towards the direction the cry had come from, to see a single Pidgey approaching the party.

The Pidgey quickly flew to professor Oak. Oak blinked and stretched out his arm, allowing the Pidgey to land on it. All the people in the clearing, Ash, Gary and their Pokémon included, stepped closer to find out what was going on. As soon as Pidgey landed the bird-like Pokémon immediately started chirping and gesturing frantically, trying to convey something to them.

Oak blinked, not getting what the Pidgey was trying to convey. Before he could ask, though, Riolu translated for him, _"She's saying that a group of Human's have been attacking and imprisoning wild Pokémon using their own Pokémon and some kind of weapons infused with lightning to beat them down and putting the Pokémon into cages not far away from the Ranch."_ Riolu's eyes became wide as he translated the next part, _"They're moving in on the Pokémon in your care that are out on the fields!"_

Oak frowned deeply and thought, _'Can you ask Pidgey what these people look like, which Pokémon they are using and how many there are?'_

Riolu nodded from his place on Ash's shoulder and asked the question to Pidgey via his Aura. The Pidgey jumped in surprise at hearing the voice in her mind, but she answered Riolu's question regardless, realizing that Riolu could tell Oak what she was trying to convey. After she had done so did Riolu turn his eyes back to Oak.

_"Pidgey says that there are eleven people with sixteen Rattata's, six Raticate's, eight Zubat's, three Golbat's and one Machoke. They are dressed up with all black clothing and have a big red R on their backs."_

Oak swore loudly, taking everyone by surprise. Delia looked scandalized, "Professor, don't speak like that around Ash! You know tha-"

"Not now Delia!" Oak cut her off. He turned towards the confused group of people surrounding him, "Listen up! A Team Rocket Strike Group has been spotted in the forest, less than a mile away from the Ranch!"

A wave of visible shock went through everyone present. Everyone knew about Team Rocket. They where notorious thugs who did anything for a quick buck and to gain strength quickly, often by stealing other people's Pokémon. They where the direct enemy of the Pokémon league and of any self-respecting person.

Oak looked grave, "They're obviously after the Pokémon I have in my care here. We need to cut them of before they reach the plains that the Pokémon under my care inhabit. I'm going to need the help of every trainer present to halt them."

Six adults stepped forwards, all unclipping Pokéballs from their belts. Oak frowned. Him included that would mean seven against eleven. Hardly a fair battle. He grinned, though, as an idea came to him, "We don't have enough people here to defeat the Team Rocket Strike Group but there are plenty of Pokémon ready to fight them that are under my care in the fields. We'll rally them and then take the fight to the them." The six trainers nodded at the sound plan.

While this was going on, Gary and Ash where staring uneasily at each other. Both of them where trainers, the only reason they hadn't stepped forwards when Oak said that he would need the help of all the trainers present was, well, they were eight year olds. Both where smart enough to know that they wouldn't be allowed to accompany them to fight the Rocket Grunts, but just doing nothing felt wrong to them. Ash turned his attention back to Oak, "And what will the rest of us do?"

Oak looked towards Ash and paused, thinking. After a moment the old professor nodded decisively, "The rest will remain here and 'guard the fort' so the speak. Delia, would you please call officer Jenny. We'll need her soon." Delia nodded and quickly ran inside, heading for the VideoPhone in Oak's lab. Oak looked seriously at Gary and Ash, "Ash, Gary. You'll be the only two Pokémon trainers here. Protecting the Ranch will fall, for the most part, on your shoulders. Can you do that?" He asked gravely, feeling terrible that he had to ask children to carry such a responsibility. Both young trainers nodded, determined to do their part. Oak nodded back to them, "Good, and remember. These Rocket's are thugs that will not hesitate to play dirty. If any of them manage to slip by us and come here you must give them no chance to do anything." Both children nodded, again.

Oak turned towards the six adult trainers. He threw his coat away, "Let's move. We must get to the fields before Team Rocket does." Oak took of running, the six trainers following close behind. The rest watched them leave, wishing them luck.

* * *

With the Team Rocket Strike Group everything was going smoothly. Every wild Pokémon they encountered they swiftly knocked out, using their numbers to their advantage, and where making good time to Oak's fields. They didn't bother putting the wild Pokémon in cages, knowing that the second group would pick them up when they made their sweep of the forest.

The Boss Grunt walked in front of the group. The nine Grunts behind him walked perfectly in formation and their Pokémon walked alongside their trainers, as they had been taught to. The tenth Grunt had been sent ahead, scouting for any seines of trouble. They weren't suspecting and complications but it never hurts to be careful. The Boss Grunt knew this out of experience. He couldn't count how many times a mission had gone awry because _someone_ hadn't thought their actions through.

The Boss Grunt, though, looked nervous. He had chosen the physically the most fit and the fastest Grunt, who had two Zubat's, and had sent him ahead to scout with his Zubat's. By his reckoning it would take ten minutes before the Grunt would reach Oak's fields and another ten to get back. That had been twenty-two minutes ago. Something was up and he didn't like it.

"Boss!" The Rocket Grunt that was sent scouting ahead came running through some bushes, both his Zubat's following him. He came to a stop right in front of him, "We have a problem!"

The Boss Grunt gritted his teeth, "Oh yes we do! What the hell took you so long!"

The Grunt took a step back in fear, "T-th-ere has been a complication, sir. We've been spotted. Oak and six adult trainers are rounding up the Pokémon in the fields."

The entire Team Rocket Strike Group froze. The leader looked shocked, "What!? How could we have been spotted!"

The Scout Grunt shook his head, "I don't know, sir."

The Boss Grunt gritted his teeth, trying to think up a way to salvage the situation, "Are they leading the Pokémon away from us? Are they aware of our intentions?"

The Scout Grunt looked troubled, "No, sir. They weren't leading the Pokémon away. They where gathering them in a large clearing, while separating the weak from the strong Pokémon. As for if they are aware of our plan, I don't know, sir."

The Boss Grunts eyes narrowed, _'They know we're here. And they're going to take the fight to us. They have separated the strong from the weak Pokémon. The weak Pokémon will stay behind and the strong will accompany that god damned Oak and his trainer friends to fight us! We can't deal with so much opponents at once!' _The Boss Grunt was starting to panick.

_'Calm down. You're a Rocket. Not a child.' _He mentally scolded himself. He took a deep breath, _'All right. We can't fight them head on. We can't go around them either. If I where them I would have a couple off Flying-Types scouring the entire scene. There's to big a chance that they would find us regardless.' _He silently growled to himself, seriously contemplating to blow of the entire mission and to retreat, despite the heavy...reprisals they would be met with if they didn't complete their mission.

The Boss Grunt stilled as an idea came to him. An idea that could save them and complete their mission at the same time. He looked up, his eyes glinting ominously in the darkness of the woods, "This is what'll do..."

* * *

Ash and Gary where sitting at one of the tables closest to the Ranche. Their eyes were peeled for the tree line, looking for any kind of threat. Riolu and Pichu where as usual sitting on Ash's shoulders. Pidgeotto was perched on the highest point of the Ranche's red roof, her sharp eyes peeled, patrolling the entire scene below her, taking in even the smallest details. Nidoran had laid down on the table, right in front of Ash and Gary. His eyes open and staring into the distance. Gary's Shiny Eevee sat a small ways away from them in the deep grass, watching and just as alert as her friends.

All the older people had retreated back into the Ranche, Delia included, seeing that they could do nothing but not wanting to leave their friends just like that. Delia had to be dragged away, though, not wanting to leave her child in a potentially dangerous situation. Gary thanked Arceus that his parents had left earlier, otherwise they would have made just as much as a scene as Delia had.

Ash sighed in aspiration and sagged slightly in his chair, "This sucks. The others are dealing with the bad guy's far away from here and we're just sitting here, waiting for a threat that may even never come."

Gary shrugged, "Is that so bad? I mean, I don't like it either that we can't do anything but I'm not comfortable to deliberately run into a dangerous situation like the others have."

Ash grunted, "I know. I'd be lying if I said that I don't feel uneasy at the idea of directly dealing with Rocket Grunts, but I just feel useless just siting here doing nothing."

Gary sighed, "I get what you mean but there's simply nothi-"

"Pidgeottooooo! _(Look there)_!" Both Gary and Ash's head shot towards Pidgeotto who was still perched on the roof. The large avian was pointing at something with her wing. Both trainers turned their eyes to the section of the tree line that Pidgeotto was indicating. Both sucked in a deep breath as one man came stepping out of the forest shadows, completely clothed in black. A big and menacing looking Machoke stood besides him.

"Crap." Ash muttered as he and Gary got up from their chairs and made way for the big grass plain in between the tree line and the Ranche. Pidgeotto flew down from the roof and landed in front of Ash, facing the enemy, while Riolu and Pichu where still on his shoulders. Nidoran and Eevee where at Gary's side.

The Team Rocket Grunt snorted, at what he supposed was an extremely weak opposition, and unclipped two Pokéballs from his belt. He grinned maliciously and hurled both Pokéballs into the air. Both opened and in a flash of light two Golbat's appeared, flying high above the ground and ready to fight.

"How the hell did he manage to get here." Gary wondered.

Ash shrugged, not taking his eyes of the Rocket Grunt and his Pokémon, who were closing the distance between them slowly, "I don't know and I don't care. What matters is that we take care of him."

The Team Rocket Grunt had apparently heard him, because he suddenly snorted loudly, "You, take care of me? Don't make me laugh. Why not go home crying to your mommies while I do my business here, hmm. It will hurt far less if you do."

Gary snorted, trying to hide his unease, "Don't you know? Bad guy's _always_ lose. It's almost a fact. You're the one that should be afraid and take off before something...unpleasant happens. Like getting your ass kicked by two kids not even half your age."

Ash snickered and the Team Rocket Grunt growled lowly, "I'll make you eat those words." The Grunt promised, before acting rapidly, "Golbat, Air Cutter!" Both Golbat's immediately complied. They spread their wings wide as they started to glow blue. They flapped their wings once, both shooting out twin blue wind blades. Ash and Gary responded in kind.

"Pidgeotto! Air Slash!"

"Eevee! Shadow Ball!"

Pidgeotto took to the air with one flap of her wings and spread them wide in preparation for her attack. She flapped her wings mightily, creating two white extremely sharp wind blades. Eevee opened her maw, a swirling mass of shadowy energy formed in front of her mouth and grew in size. Once it was big enough she fired it with all her might.

The Air Cutters, Pidgeotto's Air Slash and Eevee's Shadow Ball made contact directly in the centre of the grass plain and exploded mightily, creating a giant smoke cloud big enough to hide the Team Rocket Grunt and his Pokémon from sight.

Both Gary and Ash had their eyes peeled at the smoke cloud. Suddenly, the Machoke came rushing through, his arms crossed in an X formation, his forearms and hands glowing white as he used Cross Chop. Ash acted quickly, "Gust and then ThunderShock!" Pidgeotto flapped her wings wildly at Machoke, creating a torrent of harsh wind. The Fighting-Type cried out in pain as the super-effective attack struck it. He nonetheless held his ground but his advance halted. Pichu jumped up high from Ash's shoulder, "Pichuuuuu!" The Spiky eared Pokémon exclaimed as he launched a bolt of lightning at Machoke. Machoke, still reeling from the Gust, didn't see the attack coming and was struck head on. Again, he cried out pain as thousands volts of electricity coursed through his body.

Pidgeotto's earlier Gust had also blown away the smoke cloud, revealing the Grunt and his Golbat's again. Said Grunt growled as he saw the situation his Machoke was in, "Supersonic!" He snapped.

Both Golbat's took a deep breath, reared back, and then let out an ear shattering scream, creating a shockwave of visible sound waves that headed straight for our heroes, "Pidgeotto! Repel it with Gust! Riolu! Quick-Attack and then Force Palm!" Ash ordered.

Gary was not being idle either, "Eevee! use Shadow Ball at the Golbat on the left. Nidoran! Use Poison Sting at the Golbat on the right!"

Pidgeotto once again flapped her wings wildly, creating a harsh torrent of wind that clashed with the dual Supersonic. Gust, since it actually was an offensive attack managed to stalemate with the dual Supersonic attack and repelled it. Riolu jumped from Ash's shoulder, and shot of like a bullet once he touched ground as he used Quick-Attack, his left palm shining with Force Palm. Meanwhile, Nidoran opened his maw and fired a hail of Poison Sting at one Golbat and Eevee fired a concentrated sphere of shadowy energy at the other.

The Team Rocket Grunt acted fast, "Machoke! Use Low Kick! Golbat! Dodge and then counter attack with Air Cutter!"

Machoke waited for Riolu to come close, his body tense to act within a second. As soon as the Emanation Pokémon was close enough Machoke kicked out with his left leg. Riolu was faster. The small but nimble Pokémon jumped and landed on the out stretched leg, jumped again and slammed his palm into Machoke's chest. Machoke only had a second to widen his eyes before the power of Force Palm detonated, flinging him all the way back to his trainers feet.

Both Golbat's swerved to the left and right respectively, both evading the Shadow Ball and the Poison Sting. Their wings glowed blue as they used Air Cutter again, sending out blue dual blades of wind as they flapped their wings.

"Dodge!" Gary ordered the moment he noticed that the dual wind blades where heading for his Pokémon. Eevee jumped up, just fast enough to evade the attack. Nidoran wasn't fast enough and was struck head on. He was flung back, but managed to twist around in mid-air and landed firmly on his feet. He had some pretty deep scratches on his side, but he was still perfectly able to fight. Gary looked relieved.

"Eevee, use Quick-Attack to get close and then use Shadow Ball!" Gary shouted his command. Eevee shot of like a bullet, a gentle white light in her wake and shining across her body as her speed was augmented far past her norm. Even as she was running she opened her maw and charged the Shadow Ball. She jumped, her Quick-Attack allowing her to jump high up in the air and hurled the Shadow Ball but a meter away from one of the Golbat's. The bat like Pokémon was struck head on by the Ghost-Type attack and was flung back, crying out in pain.

Ash followed up quickly, "Pichu, ThunderShock at Golbat!" Pichu's cheeks sparked violently before he launched a huge bolt of lightning at the still reeling Golbat. The lightning bolt went straight and true, hitting the Golbat hard. The Golbat once again screeched in pain as he was hit by the super-effective attack. Once the attack ended the Golbat had been fried to a crisp. The Golbat opened his mouth and smoke came out. He fell out of the sky, completely knocked out.

The Rocket Grunt swore. It wasn't going to well for him. He looked up sharply, he wasn't going to lose to some snot nosed brats, "Machoke! Cross Chop! Golbat! Use Bite!"

Machoke crossed his arms in an X formation as they glowed white and Golbat's fangs lengthened as dark energy gathered in it's mouth and on it's teeth. Both rushed forwards, trying to avenge their fallen comrade.

Ash wouldn't let it stand, "Pidgeotto! Use Sand-Attack!" Pidgeotto sped to the ground and spread her wings wide. With one mighty flap she created a homounges cloud of sand, covering the entire grass plain. Machoke and Golbat, not knowing where their opponents where, halted their attacks. Ash had no such problem. He closed his eyes, as he used his Aura sight to pinpoint his enemies, _'Riolu! Force Palm on Golbat!'_ He thought fiercely, knowing that the Emanation Pokémon would pick it up.

Riolu shot forwards, his right palm aglow with Force Palm. His own Aura capabilities allowed him to perfectly see in the sand cloud, while his opponents couldn't, and because Ash had thought his order, they had no way to see him coming.

Riolu disappeared into the sand cloud. He rushed for Golbat. Once he was close enough he jumped. Golbat looked from side to side, hearing movement but not seeing anything. Riolu reared back his arm and when he flew a little above Golbat he grinned and slammed his palm on top of Golbat's head. Golbat screeched in pain as the Force Palm detonated. The bat like Pokémon rocketed to the ground and cratered the ground slightly as he crashed into the ground.

Ash followed up immediately, still using his Aura sight he directed the next attack, "Pichu! ThunderShock a little to the right!" He ordered. Pichu trusted Ash and acted immediately. A bolt of lightning sped into the direction Ash had ordered and disappeared into the sand cloud. Suddenly, a tower of lightning appeared and blew the smoke cloud away from the sheer impact it had made when it had struck the injured Golbat. Inside the tower of lightning the Golbat screamed in pain as he was fried by the thousands of volts of lightning flowing through his body. When the attack ended Golbat had been fried to a crisp and was completely out cold.

The Team Rocket Grunt, who was now visible again, was now seriously starting to think that he would lose, _'No! I will not lose to these brats!'_ He grinned maliciously as an idea came to him, "Machoke! Use Seismic Toss!" Machoke rushed forwards, arms stretched out for Seismic Toss. Ash and Gary reacted immediately.

"Pidgeotto! Use Gust!"

"Nidoran! Poison Sting!"

Pigeotto flapped her wings wildly, creating a harsh torrent of wind while Nidoran opened his maw, firing a hail of Poison Sting. Both attacks sped for the still on rushing Machoke, "Take it! And then use Revenge!" The Team Rocket Grunt hollered.

The attacks struck their marks. The harsh torrents of winds whipped around Machoke and the Poison Sting struck him dead in the chest. Even so, he refused to give in. Once the attacks ended Machoke was panting heavily but was surprisingly grinning. A deep orange glow had appeared around his body. Machoke crossed his arms, turned his head skywards and threw his arms wide as he screamed his name, making a deep orange dome of energy shooting out in every direction. Ash and Gary tried to order their Pokémon to dodge but the orange energy flew to fast and struck all their Pokémon and flung them back. All landed harshly on the ground. The Rocket Grunt took the advantage, "Quick! Machoke! Use Cross Chop on the brats!" He screamed his order, pointing towards Ash and Gary, whose eyes widened at hearing this. Machoke rushed forwards his arms crossed in an X formation and shining brightly.

Meanwhile, Pichu had managed to drag himself up right. His eyes widened as he saw Machoke rushing at his trainer, arms raised to attack him. An explosion of rage bellowed in his tiny chest. Growling low in his throat, Pichu shot forwards with a Quick-Attack, his small tail shining a deep shiny grey as he used Iron Tail. When Machoke was but a meter away from Ash and Gary, Pichu appeared right in front of Machoke's face. Said Machoke's eyes widened, but he was too late to act. Pichu spun in mid-air and rammed his Iron Tail into Machoke's face, right in between his eyes.

Machoke stumbled back and Pichu landed between the Fighting-Type and Ash and Gary. Machoke righted himself and leveled a murderous glare at Pichu. Before Machoke could do or say anything Pichu looked up, hell fire clear in his eyes.

"Pi Pichu Pi Pi Pichu Pi Pichu! _(If you even mess with one hair on my trainers head!)_" Pichu's eyes lighted up, "Pi Pichu Pi! _(I'll rip you apart!)_" Pichu screamed and Machoke actually took a step back in fear. Suddenly, Pichu started to glow white. Everyone's eyes flew wide as they realized what was happening. Even all the Pokémon in the field where watching, shocked.

_'No way...' _Ash thought as he watched Pichu's evolution. Pichu's form started to grow bigger. The three spiky protrusions on his left ear receded into his growing ear. His tail grew and formed into a distinct lightning bolt shape. The light receded, "Pikachuuuuuu _(Hell yeah)_!" The newly evolved mouse like Pokémon cried victoriously, his tiny hands clenched in exhilaration. Ash grinned widely.

"Let's finish this!" Ash shouted as he pointed at Machoke, "Pikachu! Use ThunderShock!"

"Pika-CHUUUUU _(Take this)_!" The yellow rodent bellowed as he released the biggest lightning bolt he ever had, twice the size of any of his previous lightning bolts. The lightning bolt actually carved a trench in the ground as it flew over it. Machoke stumbled back, trying to dodge, but he was too late. The lightning bolt struck the Fighting-Type head on, enveloping him and creating a tower of lightning as the lightning shot skywards around him. Once the attack ended Machoke was revealed to be still standing. He took one step forwards. His eyes widened as he gasped in pain. The Machoke fell over, completely out cold.

Pikachu cried in victory and Ash and Gary cheered. The rest of their Pokémon, who had dragged themselves up right by this point, grinned and made way for their trainers.

_'Crap!'_ The Team Rocket Grunt thought, now fully panicking._'I need to run!'_ He spun on his heel, planning to make break for it, leaving his Pokémon behind. He froze in terror, though, when he heard police sirens in the distance. Before he even had the chance to realize how fucked he was an Arcanine came jumping over the fence to the side, officer Jenny riding on the orange Pokémon's back. The Arcanine ran forward with blistering speed and pounced on the Grunts back, throwing him to the ground and pinning him down with one of his massive paws.

It was over.

* * *

As professor Oak was explaining to Officer Jenny what had happened and how they had handled the situation Ash took the chance to look around. A lot was going on.

Not ten minutes ago Officer Jenny had appeared riding on an Arcanine and had taken to Rocket Grunt they had been figting into custody. Not a minute after that Professor Oak returned, the six adult trainers accompanying him, and dragging ten knocked out cold Rocket Grunts with them.

Mere moments after that his mother and the people hiding inside the house came running outside and where relieved to see that everything had turned out all right. Delia had fussed over Ash for the better part of five minutes. She finally calmed down when she was sure that he was perfectly fine.

To his left professor Oak was speaking to Officer Jenny, "The Team Rocket Strike Group must have known that we where on to them because ten of them played as bait while their leader came here, aiming to take the Pokémon in their Pokéballs in my lab. Luckily Ash and Gary managed to defeat him..." Ash tuned him out as he looked towards the right where the eleven Rocket Grunts where sitting on the ground, their legs and arms bound.

Right in front of him where the adults who had hidden themselves inside the Ranche. His mother was talking in hushed whispers with a couple of her friends and Gary was being fussed over by his parents that had come back as soon as possible when they heard what had happened.

Ash turned around and smiled as he watched his Pokémon. Riolu, Pidgeotto and his freshly evolved Pikachu who were talking among themselves. Ash took the chance too study Pikachu somewhat and noticed something peculiar. Normal Pikachu's have long thin yellow ears with black tips but his Pikachu's ears, while the same shape and colour, didn't have the same black tips. Instead the fur patterns on both ears resembled the Spiky eared protrusions he had as a Pichu, but then placed upside down attached to the same black tips that all Pikachu have.

Ash blinked as he realized he had yet to do something important. He took out his Pokédex and trained it on Pikachu, "Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon. In the wild, Pikachu often travel in packs, and are rarely territorial. However, when threatened, a group can generate an intense electrical offensive, and the electromagnetic forces exerted by the resulting field can even produce a short-lived, localized thunderstorm. Pikachu can be harmful pests, eating and sometimes destroying telephone poles, wires, and other electronic equipment. They are found mostly in forests, but possibly because of their attraction to electricity or simply because they are not afraid of people, Pikachu commonly show up in civilized areas. They may even enter houses, presumably attracted by the electrical output generated by the 'dwellers' appliances."

Ash blinked at the information and grinned. That was certainly interesting.

Riolu, feeling his trainers stare, turned towards Ash and grinned, _"This was certainly an exciting birthday party wasn't it."_

Ash laughed. Pikachu snorted and Pidgeotto giggled.

"Ash!" His mother called for him, "We're going home! Come here!" Ash sighed.

"You where great today." Ash praised his Pokémon and then recalled Pidgeotto. Both Riolu and Pikachu jumped onto their spots on his shoulders.

Ash turned around and started walking to his mother, grinning to himself. Only an eight year old and he was already beating bad guys. He would make an awesome Aura Guardian someday!

* * *

**A/N: And that was chapter seven in all it's ten thousand words of glory! Kidding! It was exhausting to make, though, very enjoyable to do so.**

**Remember: Next chapter the main anima arc will begin and Ash will leave on his journey.**

**Your dearest,**

**Theblazinghope2235. **


	8. Chapter 8: Setting off with a Bang

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

"Speech"

_(PokéSpeech)_

_'Thoughts'_

_"Telepathy" _

And here is chapter 8! Ash will be setting of in this chapter WITH A BANG! Oh, and if you have read 'Working Sinnoh with Skill' from o jordinio o you will recognize the money system I've adopted from him into my story. If you haven't read it you should give it a try it. It's a good story.

* * *

Two years. It had been two years ever since Ash had become eight and the first time he ever had to deal with Team Rocket. The aspiring Pokémon Master and Aura Guardian had become ten years old yesterday and was now old enough to go on his journey, to go on his quest to become the best that he could be.

The two years had been friendly to the young boy. The once small child was now much taller thanks to his extreme physical training exercises and Karate lessons he had been doing since shortly after his eight birthday. An Aura Guardian needed to be strong didn't they! He stood a good half a head taller than most ten-year olds. He was physically at peak condition for his age. His eyes where a piercing and sharp brown, betraying the keen intelligence of the young boy. His skin had a healthy glow to it thanks to his healthy diet and the long hours he spend outside training himself and his Pokémon. His hair was still the same wild mess as ever only it was now somewhat covered by his hat.

And that brings us to the clothes of the aspiring Pokémon Master and Aura Guardian. His chosen outfit is a blue and white jacket with gold trim worn open over a black t-shirt with jeans, sneakers, green fingerless gloves, a green backpack, that laid on the ground perched against the wall, and of course, Ash's hat. The only part of the outfit with a known story behind it is the hat, which Ash won from a contest from the Pokémon League.

He had spent the intervening two years wisely. He had trained his Pokémon almost every day. Making them stronger, faster, better, teaching them new moves along the way, some they had learned naturally and others Ash had specifically taught to them to increase their repertoire of moves and to counter their weaknesses. He had of course trained his Aura capabilities and body alongside Riolu and had battled with Gary on a regular basis. He also often battled with some Youngsters who lived in and around Pallet Town, always winning. And he had of course continued with his studies in all things Pokémon related.

He was ready.

And what was he doing now? He was watching television in his room of course.

The growing child watched with rapid attention as he watched the last held Indigo League final's match that he had taped. Two adult trainers where facing each other, their Gengar and Nidorino ducking it out on the battlefield in the crowded arena.

The Nidorino rushed the Gengar at his trainers command, his horn lowered and glowing a deep purple as he used the Poison-Type move Poison Jab. Gengar simply took a step to the left to evade the powerful attack and knocked the Nidorino away with a simple punch to his side. Nidorino twisted and landed on his feet, ready to continue battling, but the enemy wouldn't give him the chance. Gengar clapped his hands together once and sent out a pulse of hypnotic energy from his open palms as he used Hypnosis. Nidorino's eyes grew heavy and closed, the Pokémon fell asleep.

Nidorino's trainer recalled him. He put Nidorino's Pokéball away and grabbed another Pokéball. Without saying a word he threw the Pokéball, which opened up to reveal a homounges Onix that literally towered over Gengar. Onix rushed forwards, angling his head at the much smaller Pokémon as he used Iron Head. Gengar jumped back, just barely evading the enormous Pokémon's attack. Onix's head crashed into the ground, cratering it. Onix pulled his head back and heaved himself up to his full height, ready to continue fighting for his trainer.

Ash grabbed the remote and paused the recording, "So? What do you think?"

_"Both trainers are extremely good. Their tactics, how they analyzed and predicted the opponents moves where spot on and their Pokémon are exceptionally trained."_ Riolu said, then grinned, _"But we can take them."_ He finished.

Ash rolled his eyes in amusement. He looked to his left. Riolu sat on the ground besides him, a bowl of popcorn in his lap. His starter turned to look at him and smirked, _"A few months into our journey and we'll stonewall those guys like rookies."_

Ash snorted, "Arrogent much?"

_"It isn't arrogance if it's true."_ Riolu shot back.

"And it _isn't_ true!" Ash said resolutely, before grinning fiercely, "Yet."

Riolu laughed, _"That's the spirit."_ Riolu threw up a popcorn and caught it in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed it, _"Now you're sounding like the trainer I remember."_

Ash cocked his head to the side, "What do you mean by that? I haven't been acting differently have I?"

_"Of course you have." _Riolu answered. There was a short pause, _"For example, you aren't acting as stupid as you look. Which you did before you met me."_

Ash's eyebrow twitched, "Take that back!"

Riolu grinned at him, _"Make me!"_ He taunted his trainer as he pulled down his right eye lid with his right hand.

Ash's nostrils flared as he fumed. His starter was so infuriating at times! Oh, how he wished he had been more strict with the Emanation Pokémon at the beginning of their partnership. Maybe he wouldn't have turned out as annoying as he was now.

Riolu threw up another popcorn and opened his mouth to catch it. Ash, seeing the opportunity to get back at Riolu, grinned and snatched the popcorn out of mid-air with his left hand. Grinning at the surprised Riolu, Ash opened his own mouth and swallowed the popcorn in one go.

_"I'll get you back for that." _Riolu promised, glaring at Ash.

Ash laughed, "Says the little puppy!"

Riolu growled, _"That's it!" _He put the bowl of popcorn aside and tackled Ash, knocking him to the ground with Riolu on top of him, _"You're going to pay Ash Ketchum!"_

Ash acted fast. He grabbed a hold of Riolu's tail and threw him across the room. Riolu flipped in mid-air and landed firmly on his feet. Meanwhile, Ash had stood up. Riolu growled and shot forwards, Ash copied his actions. Just a second before they would have bulldozed into one another a bolt of lightning came from nowhere and struck them both, frying them.

"Ouch/_Ouch_." Both trainer and Pokémon commented at the same time.

"Pi Pika Pi Pi Pikachu! _(Will you two be quiet! I'm trying to sleep here)_!" Pikachu all but screamed at them from where he stood on the edge of Ash's bed, "Pi Pi Pikachu! _(Do you guys always need to fight each other every other minute!? It's annoying)_!"

_"Sorry Pikachu."_ Riolu said through his Aura, _"We where just messing around."_

"Pi Pika Pi Pikachu! _(Well, cut it out! We need to get up early in the morning and I want to be fully awake for when we leave on our journey)_." Pikachu huffed in annoyance.

"Pikachu." Ash said, gaining the yellow coloured rodents attention, "I don't understand what you're saying. Please just _think _what you want to tell me."

Pikachu sighed, _'Fine. I was saying that I want to be well rested when we leave tomorrow and that you guys should stop fighting.'_

Ash nodded, _"Fine, we'll stop fighting."_ Ash said through his Aura. The aspiring Aura Guardian's eyes straid to the clock hanging on the wall. His eyes widened, _"Holy shit! It's 22:30 already. If we want to wake up on time tomorrow we'll have to go to bed now."_

Riolu sighed, _"Fine." _He jumped onto Ash's bed, landing besides Pikachu.

Ash took of his clothes and did his pajamas on. He shut of the television and switched of the light. He crawled in bed while Riolu and Pikachu curled up at the edge of the bed, _"Goodnight." _Ash said through his Aura.

_"Goodnight."_ Riolu said back through his Aura.

_'Goodnight.'_ Pikachu thought back.

* * *

The next morning, just as the sun was rising over the horizon, the silence in Ash's room was disturbed by the most insistent ringing sound ever made by Humanity.

_RRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNGGGG!_

Ash's alarm clock rang with all it's might but failed to wake up the lightly snoring ten-year old. All the while the alarm clock continued to ring it's highly annoying melody, until...

_RRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNGG-CRASH!_

It was destroyed by a _very_ pissed of Riolu. This _did_ succeed in bringing Ash's conciousness to the land of the living. Ash's eyes snapped open and he bolted up right in his bed. It took him but a second to take in the situation. He sweatdropped. Riolu stood on the edge of the bed, fully awake and fully pissed, as he held his cupped and open palmed paws in front of him, still smoking from the Aura Sphere he had used to destroy that diabolical machine.

Normally, a Riolu shouldn't have been able to use Aura Sphere since the Emanation Pokémon only learned that attack when they evolved into a Lucario. But Riolu was a special case. After two years of training his Aura abilities besides Ash he had progressed enough in his Aura capabilities to actually be able to guide his Aura into something solid outside of his body. Which allowed him to use Aura Sphere. This should have been impossible, but then again, when was anything normal around Ash?

Pikachu stood up, groggy from just waking up. He rubbed his eyes with his tiny hands, "Pi? _(What)_?" He asked sleepily. Pikachu blinked as he saw the same thing Ash did. A very pissed of Riolu with smoking palms and a destroyed alarm clock. Pikachu sweatdropped, _'You destroyed the alarm clock...again.'_ Pikachu deadpanned, looking at Riolu. Riolu rounded on him.

_"So what!" _Riolu challenged, _"Those damnable machines are a blight on the world and I will not rest until they are all destroyed!"_ Riolu vowed as he struck a pose, a bright light behind him.

Pikachu's and Ash's sweatdrops doubled in size at the sight, "He's gone crazy." Ash commented out loud. Pikachu nodded.

Riolu growled, _"No! I'm not crazy. I'm the only sane one left."_

Ash snorted and stepped out of bed, "Yeah, whatever." He said as he started to dress himself

Riolu growled again and Pikachu laughed, "Pi Pika. _(Someone's grouchy today)_." The electric mouse said.

Riolu huffed, _"Anyone would be grouchy if they woke up with that horrible sound blasting in their sensitive ears."_

"Pika. _(Ash isn't)_." Pikachu said as he pointed to Ash, who had just pulled on his pants.

Riolu snorted, _"Oh, sleeping beauty here wasn't woken up by that hellish alarm clock. I woke him when I destroyed that machine from hell."_

Pikachu sweatdropped, "Pi Pika? _(And that's better how)_?"

Riolu paused, _"Simple, he likes me but I don't like the alarm clock. That softens the blow somewhat for him."_

Pikachu just looked at him. He shook his head, "Pika. _(You're hopeless)_."

Riolu was about to retort but he was interupted, "Enough you two." Ash said, gaining their attention. Both turned to their now fully dressed trainer. He smiled at them, "Today we'll leave on our journey and I don't want to start it of with a fight. At least, not among ourselves. Now, a nice battle against a good trainer would be a perfect thing to kick-start the day, though."

Both Riolu and Pikachu grinned and jumped to their spots on their trainers shoulders. Ash picked up his backpack and left his room. He ran down stairs and bolted into the kitchen, Pikachu and Riolu clinging onto his shoulders as if their lives depended on it.

"Morning, Mom!" Ash said cheerfully, excited that his journey was about to begin. Riolu and Pikachu jumped from his shoulders and made a beeline for their already prepared bowls of food.

"Good morning, Ash. Breakfast is on the table." Delia replied sweetly. Ash nodded, but before he sat down he released Pidgeotto from her Pokéball. She greeted him and joined Riolu and Pikachu for breakfast. Ash smiled at them, placed his backpack on the ground and took his seat at the table. He started eating his own dinner.

Delia sat down and began to speak, "Well, Ash, I took the liberty of packing all the things you will need for your journey. Clothes, supplies, shelter, everything you need I've provided."

Ash smiled and replied, "Thanks, mom!"

Delia smiled back at him, "I hope you have an incredible experience while on your journey. Make sure to visit Professor Oak before you leave town, he wanted to see you before you left. Oh, and make sure you change your you-know-whats every day..."

Ash turned red in embarrassment while his three Pokémon snickered, "Mom! I know!"

Delia turned to Ash's three Pokémon, "I'm glad Ash has such a nice and strong team to protect him. Please, take good care of him."

Riolu, Pidgeotto and Pikachu nodded resolutely. Riolu answered for them with a smile on his face, _"Of course."_

Meanwhile, Ash had finished his breakfast and had shouldered his backpack, "Well, Mom. I'm off to start my journey. Thanks for everything,"

Delia got up and hugged her son., "Take care, sweetheart,"

"I will, Mom." Ash replied. He let go of his mom and turned to his Pokémon, "This is it, guys. This is what we trainer for these last three years. Our journey." Ash smiled at them, "Let's go on a great adventure!" His Pokémon cheered.

Ash recalled Pidgeotto while Riolu and Pikachu jumped onto their pack mule, I mean Ash, and made themselves comfortable on his shoulders. Ash turned to Delia but before he could say anything he was engulfed in a hug, "Be safe." She whispered in her son's ear. Ash nodded and wrapped his arms around his mother's waist. They stood there, just hugging for a minute, before they let go of each other.

Ash smiled on last time at his mother as he turned towards the door, "Bye MOM!" He yelled as he walked out the door, setting out on his journey.

Delia smiled, tears gathering in her eyes, "Bye sweetheart." She whispered, while praying for him to be safe.

* * *

Five minutes later Ash arrived at professor Oak's Ranch. He ringed the doorbell and waited. Not a minute later the door opened to reveal a smiling professor Oak, "Hello, Ash. You're right on time." He said and stepped aside, allowing Ash to enter.

Ash walked besides professor Oak as they made way for Oak's lab, "So, tell me professor." Ash pretended not to notice the tick mark that had sprung up on Oak's brow. He laughed on the inside. Teasing Oak was always so much fun, "Why did you want to speak with me? I already have a Pokémon team and all the things I'll need for my journey."

Oak had quickly suppressed his anger and answered the question, "Well, my reasons are two-fold. One: I need to activate a hidden feature on your Pokédex and two: I want to give you a gift."

Ash cocked his head to the side while Riolu and Pikachu listened with interest, "A gift?" Ash asked.

Oak nodded, "Yes, it's perfect for you and you have proven in the past that you could take care of it."

Before Oak could elaborate further on it they arrived at the lab. Oak walked in first with Ash following close behind. Ash was surprised to see Gary standing inside the lab, arms crossed and his eyes closed as he leaned against a table. Gary's eyes opened and he smiled at Ash., "Hello, Ash. I see that you're ready to leave."

Ash nodded and grinned at Gary as he came to a stop a meter away from him, "Hello yourself, Gary. And of course I'm ready to leave. I've been preparing for this day for almost three years now."

Gary nodded and laughed a small laugh. Ash took the opportunity to study his friend and rival. Gary was a about the same height as him. His eyes were still the same sharp green as always and his brown hair was just as wild as when he was young. He wore brown boots, blue pants, deep purple shirt with long sleeves and he wore a long necklace around his neck with a yellow and green pendant on it.

"Ash, Gary." Oak called for them, "Come here and give me your Pokédex. I need to activate the money correlation system."

Both Ash and Gary blinked. They both walked up to the professor and handed over their Pokédex, all the while a question burned in their mind. Gary asked first, "What's the money correlation system?"

Oak placed both Pokédex's on a table and started tapping in some commands, doing one Pokédex at a time. He answered without looking away from his work, "The money correlation system is a system built to be fair and a way for trainers to support themselves during their travels. When Trainers battle each other it will register on both of their Pokédex's, and the winner will win money from the other trainer's Trainer Balance incorporated into the Pokédex itself. Each trainer starts out with five-hundred Credits on their Pokédex. When someone wins they gain money from the other Trainer's Pokédex." Oak explained. He paused for a moment, making sure that Ash and his grandson where following, before continuing, "The Pokédex then calculates the experience of a Trainer and their Pokémon that they had used in the battle, and then, using them together, finally came up with a total balance of Credits that the loser will forfeit, should they lose that is. So if a 'high level' Trainer challenged a new Trainer and won, the new Trainer would probably only need to give up some pocket change, whereas if the high level Trainer lost for whatever reason, he would probably be handing over a small fortune. It is a system designed to prevent 'farming' the new and inexperienced for money, one that works rather well."

Both Gary and Ash nodded. It was a convenient and fair system.

Oak smiled as he finished activating the money correlation system on their Pokédex's. He picked up the red devices and handed them back to their owners. Ash and Gary took them and stowed them away in their pockets.

"Thanks/thanks." Both said at the same time.

Ash asked the next question, "You said you had a gift for me?" He said, looking at Oak.

Oak nodded and smiled, "Yes. I recently found it and I've been wondering what to do with it." Oak crouched, disappearing under the table as he did so. Some shuffling and scraping was heard before the professor straightened again. Gary's, Ash's, Riolu's and Pikachu's eyes widened at what he had in his hands. A glass container...with an Pokémon egg inside it.

Oak grinned at their surprised looks. He placed the glass container on the table, "Surprised. I found this egg yesterday. But I don't have the time needed to take care of it, with my research and all, and since you already took care of an egg before, Ash, I thought this would be the perfect solution."

Ash took a moment to study the egg inside the container. Unlike Riolu's egg this egg didn't have anykind of markings on it. It's entire surface was just coloured a very light grey. Ash cocked his head to the side as a question came to him, "What about Gary? I'd think you would rather give something to your grandson then me."

Oak smiled, "Oh, that thought had crossed my mind but I've given Gary another gift. He took the last available starter Pokémon I had."

Ash raised an eye brow and turned his eyes towards Gary, who grinned at him and brushed his hand against a Pokéball attached to his belt, "So, which one did you get?" Ash asked.

Gary grinned and answered, "A Squirtle."

"Interesting Pokémon." Ash mused.

Professor Oak cleared his throat, getting their attention, "Do you understand now, Ash? I already gave Gary another Pokémon, it would be a bit unfair if I gave him a Pokémon egg as well. And since I don't have the time needed to take care of it and that you have already taken care of an egg before you're simply the best choice to give the egg to."

Ash nodded and smiled, "I'd happily take care of it professor Oak. I do have one question, though, do you know what kind of Pokémon it is?"

Oak shook his head, "No clue. I haven't had the time to call professor Elm for his opinion yet."

Ash shrugged, "Oh well. Live is much more fun with surprises."Ash took of his backpack, something that made Riolu and Pikachu jump from his shoulders. He zipped it open, grabbed the glass container containing the egg and put it away into his backpack. He closed it and shouldered his backpack again.

"Was that all?" Ash asked.

Gary grinned and shook his head, "Nope." He held up a Pokéball, "First, you and I are going to have a match to celebrate the start of our journey."

Ash grinned, while Riolu and Pikachu bristled in excitement, "I'm game." Ash answered the needless question. He would never refuse a battle.

Oak laughed. The young where so energetic. It brought a smile to his face, "Well, you'll not be fighting in here. Go outside, to the battlefield." Gary and Ash grinned and ran outside, Riolu and Pikachu following close behind. Oak laughed again and followed outside.

The moment the professor reached the battlefield besides the Ranch Ash and Gary where already in their places on either side of the battlefield. The battlefield was the same one most often used by gym battles and league matches, a simple dirt field with white lines. Gary stood in the square at the left end of the field and Ash stood in the square on the right end of the field, Pikachu and Riolu standing on either side of him.

Gary grinned and unclipped a Pokéball from his belt, "The rules will be simple." Gary began, as he enlarged the Pokéball with the click of a button, "Two on two. Substitutions are allowed. The battle will be over if one side is unable to continue."

Ash grinned and unclipped Pidgeotto's Pokéball from his belt and enlarged it, "Let's get it on." Both trainers threw their Pokéballs at the same time.

"Go, Nidorino!"

"I choose you, Pidgeotto!"

Both Pokémon appeared in a white flash of light. Nidorino landed with a thump on the ground, eyes sharp and ready to battle and Pidgeotto was high up in the air, pumped and ready to fight.

Nidorino is larger than his pre-evolution. His forehead horn is larger, as well as his ears and the spines on his back. He has grown large frontal fang teeth, and has three clawed toes instead of two, as was the case for it's pre-evolution.

Ash studied his opponent closely. Nidorino had evolved almost a year and a half ago and had become much stronger and much more annoying to deal with. As a Nidoran the only place where poison was located was on it's horn, but that's not the case with Nidorino. If an enemy makes direct physical contact they will start to ooze poison from their large spines, fastly increasing the chance of poisoning their enemies if they made physical contact. He had to approach very carefully.

Ash decided to start things of, "Pidgeotto! Use Gust!" Pidgeotto spread her wings wide and flapped them wildly, creating a harsh torrent of wind.

"Dodge with Dig!" Gary countered. Nidorino took a small 'dive' towards the floor and swiftly burrowed himself underground. The Gust washed over the ground, doing nothing.

Ash's eyes narrowed, _'What's he planning? He knows that Ground-Type moves like Dig have no effect on a Flying-Type like Pidgeotto. At least, not when she is flying high up in the air as she is now. Unless...'_ Ash grinned, _'He's planning a surprise attack.'_ He deduced.

Gary proved him right a second later, "Nidorino! Use Poison Sting!" Nidorino's head appeared in the ground straight beneath Pidgeotto. Nidorino opened his maw and shot a hail of purple glowing poisoned needles at Pidgeotto from below.

"Dodge and then use Air Slash!" Ash ordered. Pidgeotto sped away, avoiding the initial wave of Poison Sting. Nidorino craned his head, steering the continues hail of Poison Sting after the Normal and Flying-Type. But was unable to hit Pidgeotto as she constantly swerved left, right, up and down as she evaded every single needle. The moment Nidorino halted his attack and closed his maw Pidgeotto turned on a dime and flapped her wings with all her might, sending out two huge wind blades as she used Air Slash.

"Back underground!" Gary shouted. Nidorino's head disappeared back underground. The Air Slash made impact right on top of the hole where Nidorino's head was but a moment ago, slicing deeply into the soil and cratering it with a loud explosion, but not hitting Nidorino. Gary followed op quickly, "Poison Sting!" Nidorino's head appeared at the other end of the battlefield and fired another continues hail of Poison Sting.

"Repel it with Gust!" Pidgeotto turned towards Nidorino and flapped her wings wildly, creating a harsh torrent of wind. The wind knocked the poisoned needles from the sky, causing them to fall to the ground, while the Gust continued on it's path to Nidorino. Nidorino's head again disappeared underground before the attack could reach him. The Gust impacted the ground again, doing nothing.

_'So that's what he's planning.'_ Ash realized, _'He's using hit and run tactics. We can't hurt him if he's underground but he can attack us at any time, which we can't. We can only strike back when he's attacking.' _Ash grinned, _'Luckily I have the perfect counter. It was a good idea to teach Pidgeotto this attack.'_

"Poison Sting!" Gary ordered once again. Nidorino appeared in the middle of the battlefield and fired another hail of Poison Sting right at Pidgeotto.

Ash grinned and countered, "Dodge with Aerial Ace and then knock Nidorino from the ground with Steel Wing!"

Gary's eyes widened as Pidgeotto suddenly disappeared from his sight, only leaving white wind blades behind, evading Nidorino's Poison Sting. He looked back to the ground and was shocked to see Pidgeotto less than a meter away from Nidorino. With a particularly powerful flap of her great wings Pidgeotto sped herself up even more and soared at Nidorino, her body parting the wind and causing many streaks of white wind blades to run past her from the sheer speed she was moving at. All the while both her wings shined with the power of Steel Wing.

Nidorino's eyes widened as he spotted Pidgeotto but a second away from ramming into him, but it was by far to late to dodge. Pidgeotto rammed her left wing, empowered by Steel Wing, into Nidorino's throat, effectively clotheslining him with enough force to knock him from his hole in the ground and into the air. Nidorino cried out in pain as he tumbled helplessly into the air.

Ash pressed his advantage, "Quick, Pidgeotto! Follow up with another Aerial Ace!" Pidgeotto nodded and with a powerful flap of her wings shot of. As the white wind blades of Aerial Ace appeared all around her body she suddenly sped up so fast that she seemed to disappear. She reappeared again as she rammed into Nidorino from below, knocking him even higher up into the air. Nidorino cried out in pain.

"Finish this with one last Aerial Ace!" Ash roared, punching a fist forward. Pidgeotto complied and promptly disappeared from the naked eye again as she sped up astronomically, seeking to finish the battle with one last blow.

Gary had other ideas, "Quick! Use Hidden Power!" Gary hollered. A white glow appeared around Nidorino's body as he used Hidden Power. White spheres of energy appeared all around Nidorino's body, but he didn't have the time to launch them at Pidgeotto, she was closing in to fast, but that was okay. Gary had intended for that to happen.

Pidgeotto's eyes widened at the move but it was too late to change directions. She rammed into one of the white spheres of Hidden Power, detonating it. She cried out in pain as she was flung back.

"What!" Ash exclaimed, shocked.

Nidorino winced in pain as he two took damage from the explosion, but he had succeeded in keeping all the other spheres from detonating, "Now!" Gary screamed. Nidorino righted himself as much as he could in mid-air and launched the white spheres of Hidden Power at Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto, still reeling from the nasty hit she took, didn't see the attack and was hit dead on by the Hidden Power. She cried out in pain as she was hit again and started falling back down to the ground. Gary gave no quarter, "Poison Sting!" Nidorino angled his falling form at Pidgeotto, opened his maw and fired a hail of Poison Sting at the still falling Pidgeotto. She was struck dead on yet again. Pidgeotto cried out in pain as the poisoned needles stabbed into her.

"Aerial Ace!" Ash commanded frantically. Pidgeotto's eyes snapped open and twisted her body, righting herself and a second later she disappeared, leaving only wind blades behind as she used Aerial Ace to evade the remaining poisoned needles heading for her.

Gary was ready, "Hidden Power!" Again, Nidorino's body was outlined by white light as white spheres of power appeared all around his body, creating a shield against Pidgeotto's inevitable attack.

Ash's eyes narrowed and brought his fist down, "Bring him down with Air Slash!" Ash screamed. Gary's eyes widened. Pidgeotto reappeared above the still falling Nidorino, her wings spread wide in preparations for her Air Slash.

"Pidgeottoooooo! _(Take this)_!" Pidgeotto flapped her wings with all her might, creating two extremely sharp white wind blades and launching them at the still falling from the sky Nidorino. As the Air Slash closed the distance the two white wind blades crosses into an X formation. The Air Slash rammed into Nidoran. His cry of pain went unheard in the explosion of the Hidden Power spheres, enveloping him and the Air Slash attack in a thick cloud of smoke. Nidorino appeared again as the Air Slash continued on it's path, exiting the smoke cloud, still dragging Nidorino with it, and rammed the Poison Pin Pokémon into the ground, cratering it and making a big cloud of dirt that hid Nidorino from sight. It settled a second later to reveal a knocked out cold Nidorino with swirls for eyes.

"Yes!" Ash pumped his fist in victory, "That was awesome Pidgeotto!" He praised the first Pokémon he ever caught. Riolu and Pikachu cheered for their friend.

Gary sighed and recalled Nidorino, "You did great." He whispered to Nidorino's Pokéball. He clipped Nidorino's Pokéball back onto his belt and grabbed another Pokéball, "I need your help! Eevee!" In a white burst of light the Shiny Eevee appeared. The Evolution Pokémon landed in a crouched position, ready for battle.

Pidgeotto landed in front of Ash, panting heavily, but willing to continue battling. Ash was more than happy to oblige and was about to give an order until, suddenly, Pidgeotto cried out in pain. Ash's eyes widened as purple energy suddenly appeared and sparked all around Pidgeotto's body. She had been poisoned, _'Pidgeotto must have been poisoned by last Poison Sting attack!' _He realized.

Ash looked at Pidgeotto and shook his head, "I'm sorry girl but you will not be battling in that condition." Pidgeotto nodded, conceding, "Return." Ash said as he recalled Pidgeotto. Ash put Pidgeotto's Pokéball back onto his belt and looked at his opponent, Eevee. He grinned, _'A Normal-Type.'_ Ash chuckled, "Riolu, it's your turn."

Riolu grinned and entered the battlefield. Pikachu whined in dismay. He wanted to battle two! Ash chuckled and petted the electric mouse on the head, who 'chaaaad' in contentment.

Gary's and Eevee's eyes narrowed at their opponent. Riolu had taken out Eevee on numerous occasions. He was extremely powerful, well-trained and had the Type advantage. Dealing with him was a monstrous task, _'__This time he won't beat Eevee!'_ Gary swore it to himself.

Ash smirked, "Riolu! Quick-Attack!"

Gary countered, "Eevee! Intercept Riolu with your own Quick-Attack!"

Riolu and Eevee both disappeared in a flash of light as they used Quick-Attack. Then, suddenly, there was an explosion in the centre of the battlefield where Eevee and Riolu had collided. Both skidded back from each other. Gary acted immediatly, "Shadow Ball!" Eevee, still sliding back, opened her maw and charged the sphere of shadowy energy in front of her mouth. Once she was done charging it she flung it with all her might at Riolu.

"Jump up and then use Aura Sphere!" Ash ordered. Riolu stopped sliding backwards and jumped up high in the air, evading the Shadow Ball. He cupped his hands and held them to his side, the palms of his paws close to each other as he charged an Aura Sphere in between them, willing his Aura to become tangible sphere of power. He finished charging it and hurled it at Eevee.

"Dodge it!" Gary screamed. Eevee looked up and saw the Aura Sphere hurdling her way. She jumped back in the nick of time. The Aura Sphere impacted the ground where she had stood and detonated, cratering the ground and sending out a shockwave that sent the still air born Eevee flying back. She twisted in mid-air and landed firmly in front of her trainer. Riolu landed a moment later. The Emanation and Evolution Pokémon smirked at each other.

"Iron Tail!" Gary ordered.

"Force Palm!" Ash countered.

Eevee ran forwards at blistering speed, her bushy tail shining a deep glowing grey as she used Iron Tail. Riolu ran forwards just as fast, palm raised and shining brightly as he used Force Palm. They once again met in the center of the battlefield. Eevee twisted around and swung her tail in front of her and Riolu trust his palm forwards. Iron Tail and Force Palm clashed against each other and promptly detonated, making a huge cloud of smoke. Both Riolu and Eevee came sliding back out of the resulting smoke cloud yet again.

Gary pointed at Riolu, "Use Shadow Ball!"

Ash threw his arm wide, "Evade with Double Team!"

Eevee hurled a concentrated sphere of shadowy energy at Riolu. Riolu's form seemed to blur for a brief moment and then his form seemed to split as more Riolu's appeared, all forming a circle around Eevee. The Shadow Ball went through a fake and detonated harmlessly against the ground.

Ash grinned, "Aura Sphere!" All the Riolu's cupped their paws, forming an Aura Sphere in between their paws and then hurled it at Eevee.

"Dodge!" Gary ordered. Eevee not knowing which one to dodge simply chose to jump up, evading every single one.

"Jump up and then use Force Palm!" Ash roared.

"Knock him away with Iron Tail!" Gary screamed just as loud.

Gary had made one small miscalculation. Every single Riolu down on the ground jumped up with their palms lighting up with Force Palm. Eevee's tail hardened and glowed a sharp grey colour as she used Iron Tail. Eevee, not knowing which one was real, simply guessed which one was the real one. She flipped in mid-air and brought her tail down on the Riolu below her. Her tail went straight through the fake. Eevee's eyes widened, _'Oh...shit.'_ She thought.

Multiple fake Riolu's went right through her body, being incorporeal clones. Suddenly the real one flew right in front of Eevee. Riolu grinned fiercely and slammed his glowing palm on top of the Shiny Eevee's head. Force Palm detonated and flung Eevee to the ground. Eevee cried out in pain as the super-effective attack hit and cried out even harder when she impacted and cratered the ground.

"Now follow-up with Aura Sphere!" Ash ordered.

"Repel it with Shadow Ball!" Gary shouted.

Riolu landed on the ground and cupped his paws, charging an Aura Sphere in between his palms. The smoke covering Eevee's landing site blew away thanks to a sudden breeze of wind, revealing Eevee. She stood straight, a Shadow Ball already charging in front of her open maw. But she wasn't fine at all, there where bruises and cuts everywhere on her body from the impact and her legs where trembling heavily from the damage she had taken from the super-effective Force Palm. She nonetheless held her ground. Both Pokémon glared at each other, charging their strongest attacks to maximum power.

"Now/Now!" Both Ash and Gary roared at the same time.

Riolu threw the Aura Sphere that was now almost half the size of his body with a scream at Eevee and Eevee flung the equally huge Shadow Ball with all her might at Riolu. The blue and black spheres of power met dead centre in the battlefield and promptly started grinding into one another, trying to overwhelm the other sphere. Both Riolu and Eevee stood their ground, trying not to be blown away by the harsh winds generated by the clashing spheres. Suddenly, and without warning, both spheres detonated, creating a huge explosion. Both Riolu and Eevee cried out in pain as they were hit. Both where flung away and crashed harshly into the ground. They skidded over the ground and made a trench in the soil. They both came to a stop a moment later.

Riolu's deep red eyes snapped open and with one push managed to drag himself in a standing position. There where bruises and scrapes all over his body from the explosion and he was panting mildly from the experience but he was all right and more than able to continue fighting. Eevee, on the other hand, was down and wasn't moving.

"Get up Eevee! We're not losing another fight from them! Not now, not ever!" Gary shouted.

Eevee's eyes snapped open. Eevee raised her head up of the floor as she struggled to stand. With a final heave, she pushed herself up from her prone position on the floor. She was panting hard, her body was trembling heavily and there where injuries everywhere on her body, but she was standing. Both Pokémon glared at each other, daring the other to continue fighting. Both stood strong.

"Let's finish this!" Ash shouted. He pointed at Eevee, "Quick-Attack into Force Palm!" Ash bellowed, punching a fist at Eevee.

"I will not lose to you Ash!" Gary responded, "Quick-Attack into Iron Tail!" Gary bellowed, punching a fist at Riolu.

Gentle white light enveloped Riolu and Eevee's bodies as they powered up Quick-Attack. Eevee grimaced in pain but she forced herself to ignore the pain and her own tiredness as she pushed her body further then it should. Riolu raised his right arm, palm open and shining brightly with Force Palm. Eevee's tail swished impatiently from side to side as it started to shine a strong grey colour as she used Iron Tail. Both Pokémon cried out their names at the top of their lungs as they shot of at blinding speeds, a white light trailing in their wakes.

They once again met dead centre of the battlefield. And suddenly, time seemed to slow down. Eevee jumped, twisted in mid-air and swiped with her tail at Riolu, aiming at his side. Riolu smirked. He used his Aura, predicting the attack and ducked. Eevee had missed. He wouldn't. Riolu brought his palm up and with a roar he rammed his palm into Eevee's stomach. Eevee screeched in pain as Force Palm detonated. The super-effective attack send her flying right past the stunned Gary. The Shiny Eevee collided with a wall of the Ranch. She was out cold within seconds.

Ash cheered, "All right!"

Pikachu pumped one of his tiny fists, "Pi Pika! _(That was awesome)_!"

Riolu smirked and did a little victory dance, _"Hell Yeah! Was there any doubt that I'd win!" _

Their celebration was interrupted when suddenly Ash's Pokédex, that was in his pocket, started to vibrate. Ash grabbed it and held it front of his face. The red machine activated with a beep, "Winner of the 2 on 2 battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, Age: 10, and Gary Oak of Pallet Town, Age: 10, is Ash Ketchum... Calculating winnings...Calculating...done... Ash Ketchum receives 86 Credits." The red machine informed it's owner

Meanwhile, Gary ignored his loses and walked up to Eevee's fallen form. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. Eevee's eyes barely opened, "You where great." Gary whispered to her, "Next time we _will _beat them!" Gary promised. Eevee smiled despite herself and snuggled into his embrace. Gary turned and walked back to Ash.

Ash looked up as Gary approached him. He smiled at his friend and rival, "That was a great battle, Gary." Ash said as he put his Pokédex back in his pocket.

Gary nodded. He two was smiling, "It sure was." There was a pause, "Ashy-Boy." Gary added, grinning.

Ash got a tick mark as Riolu and Pikachu laughed, "Stop calling me that!"

Gary chuckled and shook his head, "No way. It's too much fun. Seeing your reaction that is." Gary laughed as Ash fumed. Before Ash could retort Oak intervened.

"While joking is all well and good I think it's more prudent for your Pokémon to get some healing." Both trainers nodded. Gary recalled his Shiny Eevee while Riolu and Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulders.

"You're right of course." Ash said with a grin, "Professor." He finished, quietly snickering.

A huge tick mark appeared on Oak's brow as he turned red in the face. Without saying another word the professor turned around and stomped back to his Ranch. The rest followed, all snickering and laughing quietly behind the professors back.

* * *

"There you go." Oak said as he handed Gary and Ash their Pokémon back, "They're as good as new."

Riolu, completely healed and healthy, jumped to his spot on Ash's shoulder while Ash clipped Pidgeotto's Pokéball back to his belt. Pikachu was already on his other shoulder. Meanwhile, Gary clipped Eevee's and Nidorino's Pokéballs to his own belt.

"Thanks grandpa." Gary said. Ash simply nodded with a smile at the aged professor.

Oak smiled at them, "It was my pleasure." Oak looked at them both, a curious glint in his black eyes, "You'll be leaving now, right?" Both trainers nodded, "Have you already thought of how you're going to travel?"

Both ten-year olds nodded, "Of course." Gary said, "We'll be splitting up here and we'll simply take the shortest routes to the nearest gym's." Gary shrugged, "Simple."

Oak blinked in surprise, "You'll not be traveling together?" Oak questioned. He had expected for them to at least leave together, considering their close friendship.

Ash shook his head, "We have considered traveling together but that would be a bit difficult considering the circumstances." Ash said, "If we where to travel together then we would have to challenge every gym twice, one at a time. One of us would have to wait before the other has finished his own battle. We would have to wait a day before the other one had the chance to challenge the gym, which would be very annoying. In addition, we're both gunning to win the league. If we where to travel together we would know the others tactics, battling style and Pokémon, which would be no fun at all when we battle each other again. So, yeah, we decided to travel separately."

Oak nodded, "That's pretty well thought out." The professor admitted.

Gary grinned and turned to Ash, "Well, Ashy-Boy." Ash's eyebrow twitched, "If we don't run into one another on our journey I'll see you on the Indigo League." Gary held out his hand. Ash took it with a smile of his own and shook it firmly. Gary smirked, "I promise you, Ash. That I _will _defeat you in our match in the Indigo League."

Ash laughed, "Keep dreaming."

Gary released Ash's hand and turned to leave, "Goodbye grandpa, Ash." He waved over his shoulder as he left the room and made for the door. Ash and Oak watched him leave, both where quiet for a brief moment after he left.

Ash gave professor Oak one last smile, "Goofbye professor Oak. I promise that I'll take great care of the egg."

Oak nodded, smiling at Ash, "I know you will." He watched as Ash turned to leave, "Good luck Ash." Oak said.

Ash paused at the door and looked over his shoulder, a smile on his face, "I won't need luck." And with that, he left

* * *

Less than ten minutes later Ash found himself on Route 1. Ash looked around. He remembered this place very well. He had captured his first Pokémon here and came here often to fight wild Pokémon, to give his Pokémon more training. It was still the same twisting path that he ventured out on three years ago, when he had first become a Pokémon trainer. The path was surrounded by lush grass, some patches of grass grew even up to his knees with the occasional boulder being here and there. Further of from the path, past the grass, he could see trees framing the entire road and he could hear a stream running in the distance. Ash smiled, it was exactly the same.

Ash smile turned into a grin, an expression that was mirrored by both Pokémon riding his shoulders, and took a step forwards. His journey began here!

Every single great journey begins with but a single step and Ash had taken it without hesitation.

* * *

**A/N: And here we are. Ash's journey has begun, With a BANG! As you have probably realized by now I like to write epic battles, something that the anime sorely lacks. The Pokémon anime has a lot of potential but it's waisted because it is a kids show. My goal with this story is to rectify that. Now, I am not saying that all the battles I'll be writing will that awesome and fast paced but I will always aim to make them enjoyable to read.**

**Your dearest,**

**Theblazinghope2235.**


	9. Chapter 9: Making Friends and Enemies

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

"Speech"

_(PokéSpeech)_

_'Thoughts'_

_"Telepathy" _

P.S: I need you people to disregard the fear Misty has in the anime for Gyarados. It will not be a part of this story.

But now it's time for the ninth installment for The Plays of Fate. Read and enjoy it!

* * *

Ash smiled as he walked through the forest. Shortly after setting foot on Route 1 he had decided to take the scenic route through Route 1, to celebrate the start of his journey. He had straid from the path and into the woods. He had been walking for about an hour. Riolu and Pikachu where for the most part quiet, just looking around and enjoying themselves. They, like himself, where still riding on the high that their journey had finally begun.

Ash blinked as the roar of rushing water, that had up to this point been somewhere in the background and easy to ignore, suddenly sounded a lot louder. He continued on walking and after a minute, he broke the tree line and came to a fast-moving river. Ash looked to his left and was surprised to see a pretty large waterfall. Water roared down the sudden drop by the gallons, creating an extremely turbulent stream of water at the base of the waterfall.

Ash raised an eyebrow, _'I didn't know that there was a waterfall this close the Pallet Town.'_ He mused idly.

Riolu chuckled, having picked up his thought, _"Every day you learn something new."_ He commented.

Ash and Pikachu nodded at that nugget of truth. After a moment of looking around Ash continued on walking, following the path down the river. His feet carried him over the stone ground as he came closer and closer to Viridian City.

* * *

Not far down the river was a girl. She sat on a large rock, her red backpack laid besides her on the ground. Her hands firmly clasped a fishing rod as the lure dangled far from her in the fast-moving river. A red coloured bike was perched against one of the many trees being apart of the tree line behind her.

This girl is wearing a yellow tank top with red suspenders and light blue denim shorts. This leaves her midriff exposed, all though you can't see her belly button. Her shoes are coloured red and white, with a yellow streak in the middle.

The girl, Misty Waterflower, sighed. It was a slow day-to-day. She had been fishing here for the entire day, and had switched places frequently, but no Water-Type Pokémon had taken any of her bait. Even her special 'Mini Me' lure hadn't succeeded in getting the attention of any Water-Type Pokémon what so ever. Honestly, it was somewhat disheartening, but then again, she was used to it. It wasn't the first time that she had a slow day once when it came to fishing.

She was pulled from her thoughts as she heard the tell-tale sound off foot steps to her left. Her head turned in the direction the sound came from and she saw a boy walking alongside the river, a Pikachu riding his shoulder and a, well, she didn't know what it was, but it was riding his other shoulder.

The mystery Pokémon was a small, blue, jackal-like Pokémon. It's legs and torso are coloured black. He has a blue tail and he has a yellow collar. There are rounded bumps on the backs of it's forepaws. The Pokémon has a black 'mask' and red eyes.

The boy on the other hand wore a blue and white jacket with gold trim worn open over a black t-shirt with jeans, sneakers, green fingerless gloves, a green backpack, and an official Pokémon league hat.

The boy had noticed her, clear from the fact that he was approaching her and that his eyes were focused on her. He gave her a friendly smile as he came to a stop close by her, "Hello, doing some fishing?" He asked, his voice kind.

Misty somehow found herself smiling at hearing his voice, "Yeah, just some fishing. No water Pokémon are biting, though."

The boy raised an eyebrow, "Nothing?" He questioned.

Misty shook her head, "I've been at it since this morning but not a single water Pokémon has taken the bait."

"Strange." The boy commented. Then he smiled at her, "I'm Ash by the way."

Misty smiled back, "And I'm Misty."

It was silent a while after that. Misty just looking the out over the water and her new acquaintes lost in thought, "Maybe a predator scared them off." Ash finally said, "The water Pokémon I mean."

Misty shrugged, "Maybe." She sighed, "It might be better if I just pack up and go back to Viridia-." She was cut off when her fishing line suddenly jerked violently. Misty cried out in panic as something pulled hard on her fishing rod. She was pulled from her sitting position and to the river. She would have been pulled into the river if Ash hadn't acted immediately and wrapped his arms around her midriff, preventing her from falling into the wild streams of the river.

Even so, the force being asserted on the fishing line didn't diminish at all, it only pulled _harder_. They where slowly being pulled to the river, their feet scraping over the stone floor. Ash growled and channeled his Aura into his muscles, strengthening them far beyond what a child of his age should be capable of, and halting their forced path into to the river, "Let go of the rod!" Ash barked at Misty.

"Hell no!" Misty said, pulling hard on the rod and struggling to hold onto it, "I've finally got a big catch and I'm reeling it in one way or the other!"

"Are you crazy!" Ash screamed at the girl in his arms, "Let go before you get yourself hurt!"

Misty stubbornly shook her head and simply pulled harder on the rod. Ash growled. He channeled even more of his Aura into his muscles, strengthening them even further. He pulled hard on Misty, taking one step back. One step at a time, Ash pulled Misty further away from the river's edge and pulled whatever Pokémon she had on her fishing rod ever closer to the surface.

It took Ash one minute of struggling before he had succeeded in pulling Misty to the tree line, all the while, Misty had refused to let go of the rod, excited at the prospect of a big catch.

She would get big, but not the kind of big she was expecting.

Suddenly, the force being asserted on the fishing line disappeared, Ash and Misty nearly fell over backwards, and Misty feared for but a moment that whatever she had on her line had managed to free itself.

Her worries where unfounded however, when suddenly, a gigantic water-spout appeared in the river. As soon as the water fell back into the water, the Pokémon that had been stuck on the fishing line was revealed. Ash and Misty paled. Riolu and Pikachu looked wide-eyed at the massive Pokémon.

"A Gyarados/Gyarados!" Ash and Misty screamed at the same time.

Ash sweatdropped as he saw the lure sticking out of it's massive jaw, having pierced it's thick lips all the way through. The Gyarados looked pissed, "_(You're going to pay for that)_!" Gyarados roared in a deep masculine voice, showing that he was a male. The Gyarados opened it's already gaping maw even further as he charged up a Hyper Beam, an orb of orange volatile energy forming in it's huge maw as he aimed at them.

Ash's eyes went wide and Misty shrieked in fear, "Riolu! Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded frantically.

Riolu jumped up from Ash's shoulder and cupped his palms, forming the Aura Sphere in between them in less than a second, and hurled it at the still charging Hyper Beam. The Aura Sphere impacted against the still forming orb of Hyper Beam, detonating it in it's makers massive jaws. Gyarados screamed in pain as he rocked back, thick burn marks already forming in it's mouth, on it's jaw and on it's face. Riolu landed in front of Ash and Misty.

Ash continued immediately, "Pikachu! ThunderBolt!" Pikachu jumped up from his spot on Ash's shoulder and screamed his name as he launched a huge ThunderBolt at the still reeling Gyarados. The lightning bolt impacted against the massive sea serpent and enveloped his body completely as thousands volts of electricity coursed through his massive frame, doing massive damage thanks to Gyarados Water and Flying-Type attributes. Gyarados screamed once again in pain.

As soon as Pikachu's attack ended Ash followed up immediately, "Finish it with Electro Ball!" The second Pikachu landed he jumped back up, an orb of compressed electricity already forming on the tip of Pikachu's lightning bolt tail as a golden glow emanated from his tail, "Pika Pika Pika." He chanted as he charged the Electro Ball to maximum power and then he flipped in mid-air as he launched the attack, "CHUPI!" Pikachu screamed as he launched the Electro Ball from his tail.

The Electro Ball flew with purpose and great speed. To even Pikachu's surprise the ball of compressed electricity actually flew into Gyarados's massive open jaws. Gyarados's body was once again enshrouded by golden electricity as the Electro Ball detonated inside his body, scorching even his vulnerable insides. Gyarados gave a massive screech of pain.

The moment Pikachu landed again the electricity coursing through Gyarados's body dispersed. Gyarados was stock still in the water. His eyes had turned completely white, his pupils and scelara gone. Smoke billowed out of his massive open jaws. There was one silent heartbeat, before Gyarados fell over, his massive head slamming into the riverbank. His body was too heavy to be dragged away by the river's currents.

It took Ash half a minute to calm down his racing heart caused by the near disastrous meeting with the Gyarados. Ash turned his eyes over to Misty, who, for some reason, was blushing madly, "Uhm, are you all right?"

"I'm f-fine. T-thanks to you." Misty managed to get out as she stuttered, "Y-you can l-let g-go of m-me n-now."

Ash paused for but a second, before blushing madly as he realized that he still had his arms wrapped around Misty. He let go of her and jumped back with a squawk of embarrassment, "S-sorry." Riolu's and Pikachu's not so hidden snickers wasn't helping his embarrassment at all.

Misty shook her head, still blushing madly, "I-it's all right. It's thanks to you that nothing terrible h-happened." She said, glancing at Gyarados.

Ash turned to look at the out cold Gyarados as well, feeling slightly worried. If that thing woke up, as unlikely as it was, he would be even more pissed off at them. He had to make sure Gyarados was no longer a threat. Ash took a step closer and crouched. He placed his hand on the ground, palm open and touching the stone ground. He activated his Aura sight. He willed his Aura to travel through the ground and to connect with Gyarados. Ash squeezed his eyes shut even tighter as he used his Aura to look at the insides of Gyarados in detail. He winced at what he saw.

Gyarados throat had been burned black thanks to the Electro Ball he had swallowed. It looked like it was having trouble getting enough oxygen into it's system to support itself. Multiple organs had been damaged. Luckily, Gyarados's heart hadn't been hit by the inside detonation of Electro Ball. That could have been fatal. Ash was now sure that Gyarados wouldn't be waking up anytime soon but now there was another thing that worried him. There was a very real chance that Gyarados might die if he didn't get help. And while Gyarados had attacked them, he was unwilling to just let him die. That would be to cruel for him to stomach with a clear conscious.

"Uhm." Misty hesitated as she looked confused at the crouching form of Ash, "What're you doing?"

Ash opened his eyes and straightened. He turned his serious eyes at Misty, "I'll explain later. But right now we need to do something about Gyarados."

Misty blinked, confused, "Why? I mean, it's knocked out, right? It isn't a threat to us anymore."

Ash shook his head, "No. He isn't a threat to us anymore but now Gyarados's life is in danger. The Electro Ball he swallowed has done a number on his insides. If he doesn't receive help soon Gyarados might die."

Misty gasped."Then he needs help as soon as possible!" Then Misty paused, an odd look in her eyes, "Wait, how do you know that?"

"I'll explain later." Ash said sternly, "But first we need to get Gyarados to a Pokémon Center as soon as possible."

Misty nodded, shoving her questions to the back of her mind. She turned her eyes to Gyarados, "The closest Pokémon Center is in Viridian City but we obviously can't carry Gyarados to it. He's way to big for that. We'll have to..."

"Catch him." Ash finished.

Misty gained a giddy glint in her eyes, "Can I catch him please!" Seeing Ash's raised eyebrow she decided to elaborate, "My greatest dream is to one day become the best Water-Type Pokémon trainer in the world. As such, I of course love Water-Type Pokémon. I'd love to have Gyarados!"

Ash paused, thinking about it. To be honest he was totally fine with it. He had no need for Gyarados. It wasn't that he didn't like Gyarados but he prefered small to medium-sized Pokémon that could hit hard and fast, not giant Pokémon like Gyarados. Of course there where a few exceptions to this but the bodem line was that he didn't prefer to have a Gyarados. As such, he was more than happy to allow Misty to capture him.

Ash shrugged, "Go ahead. It would be better this way anyway. You would reach the Pokémon Center faster if you go ahead on your bike."

Misty smiled and pulled out a Pokéball from her pants pocket. With her giddy smile firmly on her face Misty walked up to the out cold Gyarados. Before she captured him, though, she unhooked her 'Mini me' lure from Gyarados's jaw and put it away in her pocket. She pressed the Pokéball against the top of Gyarados's massive head. The Pokéball opened, Gyarados turned into red energy and was sucked into the device. With a click the Pokéball shut close with and gave a soft 'ding' of capture. Gyarados had been captured immediately, not being able to struggle against the Pokéball.

Misty would normally have celebrated her capture but time was of essence at the moment. She snatched up her red backpack and her fishing rod and then made a beeline for her bike. She quickly mounted it and shot off, "I'll see you at the Pokémon Center!" Misty called back to him as she sped off.

"See you soon!" Ash screamed his temporary goodbye. Within half a minute Misty had disappeared from his sight.

Suddenly, a beautiful cry echoed in the clearing by the river. Ash's head snapped up, looking towards the sky where the beautiful cry had originated from. Riolu and Pikachu mimicked his actions. Their eyes widened in awe and wonder at what they saw. A beautiful Pokémon flew over their head, looking like a phoenix from up high in the sky, leaving a rainbow in her wake.

"Wow..." Ash muttered with wide eyes. Riolu and Pikachu where just as dumbstruck by the sight, "It's...beautiful."

_"Yeah."_ Riolu agreed. Pikachu simply nodded. They watched transfixed as the majestic Pokémon continued her flight, until it disappeared over the horizon.

They where silent for a while longer, simply watching the slowly fading rainbow the Pokémon had left in her wake.

"What...what was that?" Ash muttered, slightly dazed from what he had seen.

Riolu shook his head, _"I don't know."_ He admitted. Pikachu shook his head as well, he didn't know either. Both Pokémon sprang to their spots on their trainers shoulders.

Ash sighed, shoving his questions in the back of his mind and started walking, chosing to take the fastest route to Viridian City through the forest. He would arrive at the cities outskirts within ten minutes.

* * *

"Attention, Attention! Pokemon thieves have been sighted in Viridian City! Stay indoors and keep your Pokémon in their Pokéballs! I repeat, Pokémon thieves have been sighted in Viridian City!" Officer Jenny was saying into the city-wide P.A system, "Be on the look out for suspicious looking strangers!" She turned her head to look out of the window of her small police station and was about to continue her warning when she spotted a boy walking down the road, with two Pokémon riding his shoulders. Her eyes narrowed and shut of the microphone she was talking into with a click of a button, "Speaking about suspicious..." She muttered as she put down the microphone.

Ash was calmly walking down the road, both Pikachu and Riolu where quiet and looked around in interest, observing the new enviroment. Ash allowed his eyes to sweep the city he had just entered, looking for that unmistakable red roof the Pokémon Centers where famous for. He continued on walking, intending to find the Pokémon Center, but he was suddenly interrupted, "And where do you think you're going with those Pokémon." He suddenly heard on his left. He, along with his two Pokémon, turned their heads to the side and all three were surprised to see officer Jenny standing their, her hands crossed in front of her chest and a serious glare on her face.

"To the Pokémon Center of course." Ash answered curtly. He didn't want to piss of an Officer of the law now did he.

Jenny's eyes narrowed even further as she asked her next question, "And why aren't your Pokémon in their Pokéballs?" She asked, while secretly thinking, _'If they are yours to begin with.'_

Ash shrugged, "Both Riolu and Pikachu don't like their Pokéballs, so they almost always ride on my shoulders."

Jenny's eyes studied both Pokémon on Ash's shoulders. She could tell that they where being treated well and that they where completely relaxed around Ash. Jenny relaxed as it became clear that the boy was telling the truth. But, just to be sure, "Oh, all right then. I just need to see your trainer I.D and I'll let you go on."

Ash paused and reached for his Pokédex in his back pocket, "You mean my Pokédex, right?" Jenny nodded. Ash took out his Pokédex and handed it to Officer Jenny. She flipped it open and tapped in some commands, "I'm Dexter. A Pokédex programmed by professor Oak for the Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum from the town of Pallet Town. My function is to provide Ash with information and advice about Pokémon as needed. If lost or stolen I cannot be replaced." The Pokédex informed them, it's tone of voice blunt and uncaring.

Jenny nodded in satisfaction and gave the Pokédex back to Ash, "All right then young man. Everything seems to be in order. I'm sorry for holding you up but some notorious Pokémon thieves have been sighted in and around Viridian City and, as such, I can't take any chances with anyone. If you see anyone who looks like these two immediately inform me." Jenny said as she pointed to the wanted poster hanging on the wall of her police station.

Ash looked to the side and saw the poster, showing two pictures of a woman with long red hair and a man with short blue hair. Both where clothed in white clothes with bright red capital R's on the front of their uniforms. Ash's eyes narrowed and he had to hold back a growl, _'Team Rocket.'_ He mentally spat.

"Will do officer Jenny." Ash said, "I'll be off now."

"Have a nice day young man." Jenny said as Ash walked off, heading for the Pokémon Center. Jenny sighed and started walking in the other direction, setting out to do her rounds across the city.

What she didn't see was the poster of the Team Rocket Members being stolen behind her back. A hook on a line snagged the paper and ripped it of. It was hoisted up, into a balloon, designed to look like the face of a Meowth.

A gloved hand snagged up the wanted poster and held it up.

"A wanted poster. How flattering." A sarcastic woman's voice said.

"Flattering?" A man said, actually sounding like he didn't mind at all, "This picture makes me look terrible."

"Then you should be happy that the photographer captured the _real _you." The woman joked.

"Exactly." The man said, his voice sly.

"We'll show these pumpkins." The woman promised.

"The people of Viridian City will be sorry that they ever saw _this _face." The man said resolutely.

Two sharp cat-like eyes opened in the dark, "We're _all_ sorry to see your face." A strange, implacable voice said, "Stay focused. We're here to capture rare and unusual Pokémon. Don't forget...Meowth."

"Absolutely." The woman said.

"But of course." The man agreed.

"And just remember." The strange voice continued, "_I'm_ the top cat."

"You got it." The man said.

"Meowth."

* * *

Ash had found the Pokémon Center ten minutes into his search, the unmistakable red roof was easy to see and it was_ huge_, making it easy to spot, even from a mile away. He entered, the automated doors sliding out of the way. He walked up to the counter where nurse Joy was waiting, together with a Chansey.

Chansey have pink, egg-shaped bodies. They have hair-like outgrowths on the side of their heads instead of the pigtail they had as a Happiny. Chansey have stubby limbs and have grown a short tail. Chansey's lower body is fully developed and they have a pouch that holds an enormous egg.

Nurse Joy smiled at him, "Hello there youngman. How may I help you." She asked, her voice kind.

Ash smiled back, Pikachu and Riolu mimicked the expression, "Hello nurse Joy. I'm looking for someone. Her name is Misty and she has red, nearly orange hair."

Nurse Joy paused, thinking of anyone named Misty. After a moment she nodded, "She arrived half an hour ago, carrying a _very _badly injured Gyarados that needed treatment immediately." She suddenly scowled, "His injuries where horrid. Gyarados will make it and make a full recovery in a couple of days, but it was a very close thing. I dislike it when trainers make their Pokémon fight that hard." Her kind voice had gained an edge to it at the last part.

Ash's eyes narrowed at Nurse Joy, "You shouldn't judge so fast." He said, getting Joy's attention, "Misty was fishing when I met her. Gyarados appeared shortly after and had nearly attacked us but Pikachu and Riolu knocked it out before it could."

Joy paused again, a frosty look in her eyes now, "Why did you're Pokémon hurt Gyarados that badly. I know that it was self-defence but you didn't have to put Gyarados in such a condition."

"It wasn't my intention to." Ash defended, "Gyarados accidentally swallowed Pikachu's Electro Ball. That's why he was hurt so badly."

Nurse Joy shook her head, "It doesn't matter now." She sighed, "Anyway, Misty's in the waiting area."

Ash nodded, "Thank you." He said. Ash turned on his heel and made for the waiting area.

In the waiting area Misty was lounging. She had sagged into the comfortable green chair and had placed her feet on the table, her eyes closed and her breathing shallow.

"Hello there." Ash said as he made his way over.

Misty's eyes snapped open and her head turned in his direction. She immediately recognized him. Misty smiled, "Hello, Ash."

Ash took a seat across from her, a white wooden table in between them. Riolu and Pikachu jumped from his shoulders and made themselves comfortable on the green cushy rug on the ground.

Misty's eyes straid to both Pokémon. She didn't know what Riolu was but she knew all about Pikachu, but even still, even Pikachu wasn't normal. The fur patterns on both his ears weren't normal for a Pikachu. She stared at them, questions burning in her mind.

Ash saw this. He chuckled, "Curious?" He asked.

Misty nodded, "I've never seen that Pokémon before." She said, pointing at Riolu, who grinned back at her, "And your Pikachu looks different from other Pikachu's."

Ash nodded, "Well, Riolu is actually from the Sinnoh Region and Pikachu was before his evolution a Spiky Eared Pichu. The fur patterns on his ears are remnants from that."

Misty cocked her head to the side, looking at both Riolu and Pikachu, "They're very cute." She said with a smile.

Pikachu smiled at the compliment. Riolu, though, looked like he had swallowed something really bitter, _"We're not cute! We're badass!"_

Misty choked on the air she was breathing. Her eyes snapped to Riolu, who had bursted out laughing at her reaction to his ability to communicate through his Aura.

"What?" Misty questioned, shocked, "Was that?"

Ash smiled at the shocked girl, "Riolu is capable of speaking with people through his Aura, which allows him to essentially speak mentally to anyone he wants. Human or Pokémon." He explained.

Misty shook her head, trying to come to terms with that, "That's incredible." She herself found that a gross understatement, "What's Aura?" she asked, now extremely curious about the exciting new Pokémon.

Ash shrugged, "At it's most basic? Aura is the energy of life. Everyone has it, every Pokémon and every Human."

Misty was intrigued, "Really? Even I have it?"

"Everyone has it." Ash repeated, his voice firm. He smiled, "It's what allowed me to see how bad Gyarados's condition was."

Misty's eyes widened, "You can use it too?!" She said, shocked.

Ash nodded, "Yes. It took me three years of training to be able, though, and I still have a long way to go before I can call myself a master or an Aura Guardian."

Misty blinked as something new took hold of her attention, "An Aura Guardian? What's that?"

"An Aura Guardian is someone who has trained for years in order to master their Aura and who travel the world, helping people and Pokémon wherever they go with the use of their Aura abilities." Ash closed his eyes with a smile, "It's one of my two biggest dreams to become an Aura Guardian someday."

Misty looked at Ash, her respect for him growing even larger, "And what's your second biggest dream?"

Ash's eyes opened, steely determination shining through them, "To become a Pokémon Master." He said, his voice resolute.

Misty whistled, "You sure dream big, Ash."

Ash chuckled, "I always have and I'll always will."

There was a brief silence between the two, before Misty had another question, "You said that your Aura allowed you to see how bad Gyarados's condition was, right? How did you do that?"

Ash shrugged, "I simply connected my Aura with that of Gyarados and more or less used the connection to study him from the inside out."

"That's amazing." Misty muttered, "What more can Aura do."

"A lot of things." Ash said, smiling, "You can even use it to attack."

Misty's eyes widened, "You can?"

Ash nodded and he chose to forego the explanation and simply do a demonstration. He looked around, noting that Nurse Joy was in the back and that no other trainers but him and Misty where in the Pokémon Center. Ash cupped his hands above his lap. A blue light started shining in between his palms. Misty gasped. The light started taking shape, turning into a sphere. With five seconds a full-fledged Aura Sphere rested in his palm, made from his own Aura.

Misty recognized it immediately, "That's the same attack Riolu used to detonate Gyarados's Hyper Beam prematurely."

Ash nodded and slowly drained away the power that sustained the Aura Sphere, causing it dispel harmlessly into nothingness, "Yes, this is an Aura Sphere. A pure Aura based attack."

"That's incredible..." Misty trailed off.

Ash looked to the side and saw a couple of VideoPhone's placed against the wall. He smiled, "Misty, I'm going to call home for a moment, okay."

Misty looked up and nodded with a smile, "Sure, go ahead." She said and picked up a magazine that laid on the table. She flipped it open as Ash made for the VideoPhone's.

Ash sat down, grabbed the phone and dialed his mother's home number.

"Hello, this is the Ketchum residence." Ash heard as the screen was still busy loading.

"Hello, mom." Ash said. He heard his mother gasp on the other side and sit down, it was right then that the screen finished loading and that his mother's image appeared on the screen.

"Hi honey, is everything okay?" Delia asked with a smile."Where are you, Ash?"

Ash smiled back, "I'm in the Pokémon Center in Viridian City and everything's fine."

"You're already in Viridian City! It took your father four days to reach Viridian City when he left on his journey." Ash sweatdropped at hearing this. Viridian City was only a little over an hour walk away from Pallet Town. His father must have a very bad sense of direction in order to take over four days to reach it.

His father. That's a man he didn't see often or even heard about on a regular basis. His father had left when he was young and only every once in a while he would hear from the man from his mother, all though, they were still technically married. To be perfectly honest, the man didn't mean much to him. His mother was wonderful parent and she had raised him pretty much alone. He didn't need his father.

He just wished that he didn't always feel sad and/or angry when he thought about him.

Ash didn't let his emotions show on his face, though, and simply smiled at his mother."I'll make you and him proud, mom."

"You already have honey." She said back sweetly, "Did anything happen on the way over to Viridian City?"

Ash sweatdropped again, _'How would mom react if I told her I had almost been blasted by a Hyper Beam off a pissed off Gyarados.'_ Ash's sweatdrop doubled in size, _'She'd probably freak out. Gotta lie on this one.'_

"Oh, nothing really happened. I made a new friend named Misty on the way and she's with me here in the Pokémon Center. But I haven't caught or met any new Pokémon or anything." Ash said, lying through his teeth.

Delia smiled at her son, her pride and joy, "You're growing up right on front of me." She said, her voice wishful, "Be safe and have fun, honey. Goodbye and call back soon." Delia waved at her son as she said goodbye.

"Goodbye." Ash said with a smile and cut the connection. With a small crackle the screen shut off. He placed the phone back down and he stood up. As he was about to turn back to Misty something of interest caught his attention.

A huge mural hanged on the wall, displaying four crudely drawn Pokémon that he didn't recognize. The pictures almost looked like they were carved from stone.

Wait. That wasn't completely right. He _could_ recognize the Pokémon depicted in the top left part. It was the same Pokémon he had seen this very same day. The phoenix he had seen flying high up in the sky by the river.

Ash was broken from his reverie as he heard a VideoPhone ring. He looked towards the side, seeing that the VideoPhone he had just used to call his mother was ringing. He looked around, noting that no one was around to pick it up. Ash sighed and again took a seat in front of the VideoPhone and picked it up.

The screen lit up to display the aged face of Professor Oak. The professor looked faintly surprised to see him but also pleased, "Why, hello Ash. I see that you've already reached Viridian City."

Ash blinked, surprised, "Well, of course, other wise I couldn't be talking to you right now, could I?" Ash said, "Anyway, why did you call?"

Oak blinked, "Oh, I was actually calling to ask Nurse Joy to ask her if she could ask you to call me as soon as possible. I called earlier to ask the same thing for Gary but I forgot to also ask for you."

It was one surprise after another today wasn't it, "Really? What did you want to talk about?"

Oak shrugged, "I just wanted to know how your first day went and if you made it all right to Viridian City."

Ash smiled, "Everything went just fine. I haven't caught any new Pokémon but I made a new friend on the way here. Her name is Misty."

Oak chuckled, "A calm first day, ey?" Oak asked. Ash nodded, keeping his mouth shut about the encounter with Gyarados, "Well, then. I hope you have fun on your journey. Call me when you have the chance, goodbye." Oak smiled at Ash and cut the connection.

Ash chuckle and placed the phone back down. He stood up and made his way back over to Misty. Before he reached her, though, something shocking happened.

Suddenly, the alarm in the Pokémon Center started blaring out of no where. Officer Jenny's voice was heard over unseen speakers hidden in the entire building, "You're attention please! Our Viridian City radar sensors have picked up an aircraft belonging to a gang of Pokémon thieves!" Ash looked up sharply and his stance turned rigid. Pikachu and Riolu looked shocked for a moment before they bolted for Ash, strength in numbers, right. Misty gasped and threw her magazine to the side. She grabbed her red bag containing her stuff and Pokémon and made way for Ash. Nurse Joy came running from the back, throwing a heavy double door aside as she rushed to the front of the Pokémon Center.

On the outside, the Team Rocket Meowth balloon flew high in the night sky, hovering above the massive doomed red roof of the Pokémon Center, "If you have a Pokémon in your possession exercise extreme caution!" The warning of officer Jenny echoed out over the entire city, spreading panic and fear like a wild-fire. The two people and the one Pokémon in the balloon reveled in the panicked aura practically radiating from the city below them

The woman chuckled, "Guess we woke up this sleepy dumb."

The man looked and sounded incensed, "And how _dare_ they act like we're common criminals. They should well know Team Rocket."

The woman took it in stride, though, "Well, we'll teach them to respect that name."

"Meowth." The strange voice was heard from behind them, "And when we snatch all their Pokémon these scared little mice will know that _I'm_ the top cat."

"We know Meowth." The woman and the man spook in unison, "We know." They finished.

Both the man and the woman grabbed a Pokéball and hurled them over the edge of the balloon basket. The Pokéball went through a sky window, shattering it into pieces, "Ekans! Koffing! Attack!" They once again spoke in unison. Both Pokéballs opened up to reveal the two Poisen-Types, Ekans and Koffing.

"Koooooffing!" The Poison Gas Pokémon cried out when he appeared, a manly tone to his voice.

"Ekanssssss!" The Snake Pokémon hissed as he materialized besides Koffing, hissing in a deep baritone, obviously a male Ekans.

Already knowing what their trainers wanted Ekans stayed where it was and Koffing suddenly blotted obscenely, before spewing out a deep black smoke as he used SmokeScreen, covering the insides of the Pokémon Center in seconds.

All people and Pokémon Center started coughing as they inhaled the slightly toxic gasses. Ash and Riolu closed their eyes and activated their Aura sight, allowing them to see perfectly regardless of the smoke as they looked at the world through their hearts and their Aura. The black smoke was replaced by a clear blue image of the world around them.

Both saw the man and woman who had released the Ekans and Koffing entering the Pokémon Center through the broken window as they slid down a rope dangling from their hot air balloon. They where surprised to see a Meowth following them down the rope and landing on his two feet since Meowth's normally walk on all fours, like nearly all cat-like Pokémon do.

"Who are they?" Ash muttered, more annoyed than anything else.

The Pokémon thieves had apparently heard his muttered question and responded, mocking him, "Don't be frightened little boy." The woman said. Ash got a tick mark in anger. They didn't see it because of the cloud of smoke, not that they would have cared either way.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves." The man said.

"To protect the world from devastation!" The woman began, smirking.

"To unite all people's within our nation!" The man continued, holding a rose in his right hand and holding it close by his face.

"To announce the evils of truth and love!" The woman picked of where her partner had stopped.

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" The man cried, a sense of victory in his voice.

"Jessie!" The woman shouted her name.

"James!" The man followed.

"Team Rocket! Blasts of at the speed of light!" The now named Jessie shouted.

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" James continued.

"Meowth! That's right!" The Meowth said from his place in between Jessie and James.

While Team Rocket was shouting their motto the smoke that had been spewed by Koffing had started to lift and once they had reached the end of it the smoke was almost completely gone, allowing Ash and the others to see their enemies normally, while they made stupid poses.

Misty and Nurse Joy looked at them in disbelieve as they gaped at the sheer stupidity that they where witnessing. Pikachu and Riolu bursted out laughing, it took all their concentration to not fall over laughing. In the current situation _that _would be very stupid. Ash was similarly looking at them in disbelieve and the only reason why he hadn't facefaulted at the sheer stupidity was because he needed to be in a standing position if he wanted to kick the asses of these Team Rocket...weirdos.

Jessie smirked a devilish smirk at them, "Look at them. We scared them speechless! And their Pokémon are cowering in fear!" She said with a laugh.

James took a step forwards, a similar smirk on his face, "Now, just give us all the Pokémon and we'll leave."

Meowth laughed, "That's right! Give us what we want and no one will get hurt!"

Ash blinked as he realized something at about the same time the rest also noticed it. That Meowth was talking like a Human! What the Hell, _'Okay. Is this freak show monday or something? Or did I somehow land up in some animation series for kids with some crazy ass crooks mixed in!' _

He swiftly pushed it to the back of his mind. It wasn't really important at the moment, weird yes, but not important in the face of Team Rocket Grunts, no matter how weird they where.

There was a moment of silence as the two groups stared each other down. The tense moment was shattered as Ash let out a very loud snort, "Hmmm, how about no." He said in the face of their demands, "You won't get anything from us and certainly not any Pokémon."

Misty nodded, standing besides him, "Yeah! Why would we give into demands off a couple off crazies like you three!"

Meowth, Jessie and James all got tick marks on their brows from being called crazies and Koffing and Ekans got tick marks on their brows from being ignored by pretty much everyone.

Jessie fumed as her nostrils flared in anger, "You dare call us crazies!? Ekans! Use Poison Sting!" She shouted in anger. The Snake Pokémon opened his maw wide and fired a hail of Poison Sting at them.

Ash acted fast, "Pikachu! Knock them back with ThunderBolt!" Pikachu sprang forward, his cheeks sparking with electricity as he gathered his power for a ThunderBolt. Pikachu launched the golden coloured lightning bolt, which fried and easily destroyed the incoming needles of Poison Sting. The bolt continued on and struck Ekans, who shrieked out in pain as the lightning coursed through his body.

"Ekans!" Jessie cried out, shocked at how easy Pikachu had deflected her attack.

James came to their aid, "Koffing! Blast them away with Sludge Bomb!" Koffing complied and spat out a large glob of unsanitary purple sludge at them as he used Sludge Bomb.

"Riolu! Use Aura Sphere!" Ash shouted. Riolu held his arms to his side as he charged an Aura Sphere in between the palms of his paws. With a shout Riolu flung the bright blue sphere of Aura Sphere at the in coming Sludge Bomb. The attacks met and promptly detonated, or it looked that way. Out of the smoke created by the collision of Aura Sphere and Sludge Bomb the Aura Sphere had won out and came speeding out of the smoke, the destruction of the Sludge Bomb being the only reason for the smoke cloud, and rammed into Koffing. Koffing cried out in pain as he was flung back. He crashed into Jessie and James, knocking them from their feet and on their ass.

Meanwhile, Misty was getting Nurse Joy to safety, "Quickly Nurse Joy! Go to the back of the Pokémon Center and call Officer Jenny! We'll hold them off!"

Nurse Joy stumbled as Misty pulled her away, tugging at her wrist, "Bu-but I can't just lea-"

They came to a door which Misty pulled open. She pulled Nurse Joy forwards and shoved her through the door, "Yes you can! Call Officer Jenny and we'll hold them off!" Misty repeated. Seeing Nurse Joy's torn look Misty managed a strained smile to reassure her, "Just trust us. Ash is kicking their asses as we speak. Everything will be fine." Joy hesitated for barely a second before nodding and running into the back of the Pokémon Center, speeding for the closest VideoPhone.

Misty turned around and promptly grabbed one of her Pokéballs. She hurled it, "I need your help! Come on out Staryu!" Staryu appeared in a flash of light and landed in front of her, ready to battle.

Misty and Staryu ran forwards. As they arrived back besides Ash they could see that Jessie and James had stood back up and that the strange talking Meowth was charging at Riolu, his claws extending and glowing a silvery white as he readied himself to use Scratch.

Misty grinned, "Jump and use Water Gun on the floor!" Staryu jumped high up into the air and spat from the highest tip of it's star shaped body a pressurised stream of water that spewed over the ground in front of the charging Meowth, making the tiled floor wet and slippery.

Meowth slipped over the wet floor, crying out in panic as he did so. His momentum caused him to continue to slide forwards and closer to Riolu. Ash grinned, seeing the perfect opportunity, "Riolu! Force Palm!" Riolu grinned as he reared back his arm, the palm lighting up with Force Palm.

Meowth desperately tried to stop his forwards momentum, "Oh, CRAP!" Meowth shouted. Riolu's grin turned into a smirk as Meowth came into range. With a shout Riolu rammed his Force Palm enhanced palm into Meowth's stomach, knocking the wind out of him as the blow clamped him in between the hard floor and the unbending palm. Then Force Palm detonated. Meowth screamed in pain as the super-effective attack scorched and cratered his body into the floor, taking him out of the fight and nearly knocking him out. The blast had flung Riolu back, who twisted gracefully in mid-air and landed in front of Ash.

Ash grinned at Misty as she came to a stop besides him. Staryu had taken it's place in front of her and besides Riolu and Pikachu, "Thanks for the assist." Ash said, to which Misty merely nodded, her eyes focused on their opponents.

Jessie and James looked shocked, "Meowth!" They screamed, looking at their hurt and immobile partner. They looked up, an enraged expression on their faces.

"Koffing! Use Clear Smog!" James shouted.

"Ekans! Acid Spray these fools!" Jessie hollered.

Koffing once again blotted obscenely before he spewed out a highly pressurized extremely toxic white smoke at our heroes as he used Clear Smog. Ekans opened his maw as he used Acid Spray, sending out a stream of vile green sludge at them.

Ash and Misty countered immediately, "Pikachu/Staryu!" They cried at the same time, "Use ThunderBolt/Water Gun!" Their Pokémon complied. Pikachu launched another humongous bolt of golden lightning and Staryu fired a highly pressurised stream of water at their enemies.

ThunderBolt met Clear Smog, detonating and making a huge cloud of smoke. Acid Spray met Water gun and they almost seemed to mix for a moment before the conflicting energies in both attacks overloaded and exploded, making a big cloud of smoke as well.

James only got madder, "Koffing! Use Gyro Ball!" He hollered.

Koffing grinned fiercely as his body was outlined by a blue glow, "Koooooffing!" He cried out as he started to spin rapidly. He shot forwards with blistering speed, shooting into the smoke cloud as he prepared to grind his opponents to dust.

Ash had heard the command and was already countering, "Riolu! Quick-Attack into Force Palm!" Riolu closed his eyes and activated his Aura sight. His body glowed a gentle white as he powered up Quick-Attack, his left palm already shining with Force Palm. Riolu rushed forwards so fast that he seemingly disappeared in a white flash of light. The moment Koffing appeared from the smoke cloud spinning madly with Gyro Ball Riolu was already in front of him. With a fierce grin Riolu rammed his Force Palm into Koffing's face. Gyro Ball halted immediately and Force Palm detonated, severely scorching Koffing's face and throwing him back. The Poison Gas Pokémon rammed into Meowth who had just managed to pull himself up in a standing position and dragged Meowth with him. Both Pokémon crashed into James and once again knocked him onto his ass.

Ash, seeing the opportunity to finish it, acted quickly, _"Pikachu! Quick-Attack and then THUNDER!"_ Ash bellowed through his Aura at the electric mouse. Pikachu happily complied. He blasted off, even faster than Riolu did, and rammed his Quick-Attack enhanced body head on into Ekans. Knocking him back into Jessie, while Pikachu clung onto him.

Pikachu jumped back up, launching himself high up in the air and far away from Ekans. His cheeks sparked fiercely as he flew up higher and higher into the air, "Pika-CHUUUU!_ (EAT ELECTRICITY)_!" Pikachu bellowed as he used Thunder at max power. A truly giant column of electricity appeared from his small body, the column of lightning grew and shot skywards, engulfing Jessie, James, Meowth, Ekans and Koffing. The pillar of lightning disintegrated the doomed rofe of the Pokémon Center and pierced the heavens with a vengeance. Pikachu was at the centre of the Thunder pillar, suspended in mid-air by his own power.

Team Rocket and their Pokémon screamed, a sound that couldn't pierce the roar of Pikachu's Thunder. Ash and the rest watched the massive tower of vengeful electricity in awe, _'Holy shit! I didn't know Pikachu had that much power!' _Ash thought, shocked by the sight in front of him. He knew Pikachu had extremely powerful electric based attacks but he would never have guessed that Pikachu's Thunder would pack this much punch at full power.

Suddenly, Koffing lost control and accidentally used Smog. The slightly explosive gasses in the Smog promptly detonated inside the Thunder pillar, disrupting the attack. Pikachu landed on his feet while the immediate surroundings close by Team Rocket and their Pokémon seemed to explode, launching them up in the air and back out of the broken window they had entered from. They actually destroyed their own balloon as they flew straight through it and shot off in the night sky.

While they flew of they actually held a conversation, as absurd as it was in their current situation.

"Great!" Jessie said, "A cat losing to a Mouse!" She said, glaring at Meowth.

"That Pikachu is no ordinary Pikachu!" Meowth defended, "And I'm not referring only to the fur patterns on it's ears either! And I never even fought that Pikachu directly anyway!"

"It's certainly very rare." James agreed, "And I don't even know what that small blue Pokémon was! It must be just as rare! They are the perfect prize!"

"Let's steal them!" Jessie promised she would.

"Perhaps we will." Meowth said, "But for now..." And suddenly Meowth, Jessie and James screamed in unison, "Team Rocket! Blasting off at the speed of light!" They screamed and disappeared into the distant sky as they flew out of sight, Ekans and Koffing following them off into the night sky.

* * *

**A/N: And that was chapter nine. I hope you liked it and how I introduced Jessie, James and Meowth into the story. **

**P.S: I just found out that Misty actually had a fear for the Gyarados species because of a traumatic event that had happened in her childhood. This was later resolved in the anime but for the sake of my story, please ignore this. In my Pokémon world this traumatic event never happened and as such Misty has no fear for Gyarados. I'm sorry if you don't like it but it's a change I needed to introduce to progress the story forwards.**

**Please Review and do whatever the hell you like afterwards!**

**Your dearest,**

**Theblazinghope2235.**


	10. Chapter 10: Boulder Badge! Here I Come!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

"Speech"

_(PokéSpeech)_

_'Thoughts'_

_"Telepathy" _

A/N: Sorry for the delay but I had a busy week and I had been focusing on my other story. It didn't help that this was the biggest chapter I have ever written for The Plays of Fate.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Ash sighed as he walked down the main street of Viridian City, his hands were stuffed into the pockets of his jacket and Riolu and Pikachu where as usual riding on his shoulders. He was bored and he had nothing to do. A hell for someone like him.

Last night had been hectic to say the least. Between dealing with the Team Rocket Weirdos, a frantic Officer Jenny, the massive amount of damage to the Pokémon Center and the people of Viridian City who had been demanding answers, nearly rioting, wanting to know what had happened to the Pokémon Center he had barely been able to get some sleep in. And when he was finally in bed all the excitement of the night had kept him from his sleep. When he had finally fallen asleep it was a restless and an uncomfortable sleep as well.

His consternation grew when he found out that he couldn't leave for Pewter City just yet. Misty, who had opted to stay behind at the Pokémon Center instead of accompanying him through the city, wanted to leave with him since she was planning to go the Pewter City as well, and with everything that had happened with Gyarados and the Team Rocket Weirdos she didn't feel comfortable to leave by herself. He could understand that and he had agreed, it would be more interesting anyway, traveling with a companion. But that also meant that he had to wait until Gyarados had completely recovered from his injuries, which could still take a day or two.

Sometimes, he really cursed his good guy tendencies.

Ash shook his head in an effort to rid himself from those thoughts. There was nothing to be gained from thinking like that. Ash paused as he spotted something that caught his interest. A sign with the following words on it.

_The Pokémon Academy._

_Welcome to the awesome world of Pokémon!_

_We allow all people who are interested to learn about the wonders of Pokémon into our halls!_

_You can either formally enroll in our ranks or simply swing by anytime you want to learn more about Pokémon!_

_Please, visit us and never forget our motto!_

_Go forth together with me my friend!_

Raising an eyebrow the young Pokémon trainer looked around the sign to see the Pokémon Academy in all it's glory. It was large building divided into two sections, one large house with a chimney on it's angled rove that acted as the main building and one long rectangular building attached to the side. The Pokémon Academy has white walls with lots of windows and a bright red rove.

Ash looked at the building for a while longer, silently debating if he should go check it out or not. Riolu, having picked up his thoughts, added his two cents to his internal debate, _"We've nothing better to do. Why not just go check it out. If there's nothing fun to do inside we'll just leave."_

Ash shrugged, "Eh, why not." He said and made his way over to the entrance of the building. He rang the doorbell and waited. Ash waited for over a minute and still no one had opened the door. He frowned. He rang the doorbell again, another minute later there was still no response. Ash frowned heavily while Riolu and Pikachu where a bit bewildered, _"The sign said that you could come by whenever you wanted, right? Shouldn't that mean that the Trainer's Academy would have to be open every day, right?"_ He asked his question to Riolu and Pikachu through his Aura.

Pikachu shrugged, _'It should. Maybe they're on a field trip or something.'_ Pikachu said back through their mental connection.

Ash paused, _"It's a possibility."_ His eyes narrowed, though, as he heard something from inside the Academy. He took a step closer to the door and pressed his ear against the wood in an effort to hear the sound better. Ash's eyes widened as he recognized the faint droning noise he heard from the other side. It was the faint drone of a mass of people talking and screaming through each other. Ash took his ear away from the door and straightened, _"Well, there's definitely someone in there. Maybe they just didn't hear us?"_

Riolu shrugged, _"Maybe, but anyway why not just go inside? The sign did say that you're allowed to come whenever you wanted so it should be all right to just enter now that no one has come to open the door."_

Ash hesitated, believing that just entering would be rude. Then again, it should be all right since people were allowed to come and go as they pleased. Ash nodded to himself and opened the door, noting that it wasn't locked and stepped inside. The noise was now a lot louder. Ash followed the sound, walking through the plain school building and came to a classroom at very back of the Academy. Ash looked through the plain glass window into the classroom and saw chaos. The droning sound off shouting and screaming children now sounded a lot louder. The majority students in the class where between seven and nine years old, all though Ash could also see a couple of ten-year olds in there two. All of them where fooling around and screaming across the classroom as they tried to make themselves heard over all the noise, except for a few notable exceptions. The female teacher who was standing in front of the class and behind her desk was trying to calm things down, with little to no success.

Suddenly, one of the boys in the class stood up and bolted. He ran out of the classroom and slammed the door behind him, an enraged expression on his face, "That's it! This is the last straw! I'm not learning anything new here, it's only holding me back! It's time I left this stupid school and this stupid city!" The enraged boy ranted to himself.

As the boy ranted to himself Ash took the chance to study him. The boy was about his age and was clothed in light grey jeans that turned light yellow in colour as they reached the knees. He had on a blue jacket that was outlined in white while it's sleeves had the same colour of yellow that he had on his jeans and had another yellow shirt under it. He had on black sneakers and had one earring in his right ear. The boy had obsidian coloured eyes and his light gray hair was a wild mess, even wilder than Ash's hair.

The enraged boy finally noticed Ash and sneered at him, "What do _you_ want?" The boy spat out.

Ash's eyes narrowed at the rude boy while Riolu and Pikachu growled at him, "Nothing. I just came to look if there was something fun to do here." Ash said, while mentally adding, _'Prick.'_

The boy sniffed his nose, the action packed with thinly veiled disgust, "I would turn away if I where you. This place is useless for someone of my skill level, but maybe a rookie like you would pick up a thing or two from these morons."

Ash growled at the insult. He had trained his Pokémon for three years before setting out on his journey. He maybe wasn't an advanced trainer but he certainly wasn't a rookie by any stretch of the imagination. Riolu clenched his fist in anger and Pikachu's cheeks sparked with electricity as he growled.

They boy noticed their reactions and smirked at them, "Oh, did I strike a nerve?" The annoying boy asked mockingly, "You know what, rookie. I'm going to give you the chance to prove me wrong. Battle and beat me and I'll take back everything I said."

"Deal." Ash spat, glaring at the boy, "Where do you want to battle?"

The boy smirked at him, "Out back behind the Academy is a battlefield that we can use."

Ash sneered at him, "Lead the way."

The boy's smirk widened and started walking. Ash followed him, glaring at his back together with Riolu and Pikachu.

"I'm _so_ going to enjoy crushing you or my name isn't Ash Ketchum." Ash muttered, hard enough for the boy to hear, who sneered unseen at the promise.

* * *

Not even a minute later we find Ash at the Pokémon Academy's battlefield behind the building itself. It was basically the same as the battlefield at Professor Oak's Ranch, just covered in grass in place of just dirt. Ash stood at one end of the battlefield and his opponent was at the other end.

The boy opened his mouth to say something, but before he could Ash cut him off, "Before we start, tell me your name. I at least want to know the name of the person I'm about to humiliate." Ash said with a smirk. Riolu and Pikachu giggled.

The boy growled, "Like that's ever going to happen!" The boy sneered at him, "The name's Tom. Remember it, because one day I will be the greatest Pokémon trainer ever." The now named Tom clipped a Pokéball from his belt and prepared to throw it.

Ash sneered right back at him, "A brat like you becoming the greatest Pokémon trainer ever? Don't make me laugh!" Ash took Pidgeotto's Pokéball from his belt and enlarged it with a click of a button.

Tom's nostrils flared in anger, "Brat! I'm no brat! I'm a future Pokémon Master! Not like a fool like you will be able to see that!"

Ash snorted, it took everything he had not to burst out laughing at the brats claims. He had the same goal, but he didn't go spouting about at the earliest convenience as if it was a given fact that he would become a Pokémon Master, "A brat like you will never become a Pokémon Master! You'll probably never even reach the Pokémon League with your attitude because no Pokémon would ever listen to such a jackass for a trainer!"

The boy shouted in anger as he threw his Pokéball at the same time Ash threw his own. In two white burst of light Ash's Pidgeotto and a Spearow appeared on the battlefield.

Ash took out his Pokédex and trained it on Spearow. The device activated with a beep, "Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. Unlike Pidgey, Spearow has a terrible attitude. It is very wild and will sometimes attack other Pokémon and humans."

Tom was surprised to see an already evolved Pokémon as Ash's first choice. He absently noticed that Pidgeotto was three times the size of his Spearow, before shaking it off and sneering at large avian, "The bigger they are the harder they fall." He said, "I'm going to enjoy destroying that oversized turkey of yours! Spearow! Use Peck!" Spearow obediently complied and flapped his wings, taking flight and shooting of at the immobile form of Pidgeotto, his beak lengthening and sharpening as it glowed a bright white.

Ash snorted at the foolish frontal attack, _'You don't attack your opponent head on if he's stronger than you.'_ He thought. A grin lit up on his face, "Pidgeotto! Counter with Aerial Ace and then follow-up with Air Slash!" He ordered.

Pidgeotto nodded and flapped her wings as she two took flight. She darted forwards as the white wind blades of Aerial Ace appeared around her form as she sped forwards, and then, she suddenly sped up so fast that she seemed to disappear. Pidgeotto reappeared as she rammed into Spearow from above, knocking him into the grass and halting his Peck attack. Spearow cried out in pain as Pidgeotto's body rammed into him and the wind blades of Aerial Ace cut into his body.

Before Tom even had the chance to order anything Pidgeotto, who had been knocked back up high into the sky after the collision with Spearow, spread her wings wide and flapped them with a lot of force, creating two sharp blades made of wind and launched them at the downed form of Spearow. The attack struck the still struggling Spearow directly and detonated, kicking up a dust cloud. Once it settled it revealed a knocked out Spearow with swirls for eyes.

Pidgeotto chirped in victory. Ash, Riolu and Pikachu cheered for her and their victory.

Tom recalled Spearow. He sneered at Spearow's Pokéball, "Pathetic." He spat as he clipped the Pokéball to his belt and took out another one. He sneered at Ash, "Don't get cocky, moron! That was just luck! My next Pokémon _will_ end you!" He shouted and threw the Pokéball, which opened up as white light blazed to reveal an Elekid.

Elekid landed on the ground with a battle cry and started spinning his arms around, the move generating static electricity around his horns in preparation for battle.

Ash once again took out his Pokédex and trained it on Elekid. The device activated with a beep, "Elekid, the Electric Pokémon. Elekid's tend to play out in the middle of thunderstorms. Elekid rotates it's arms to generate electricity, but it tires easily, so it is only able to charge up a small amount."

Ash looked Elekid over and noted that he looked far stronger than Tom's Spearow, _'Must be his starter.'_ Ash thought. He looked at Pidgeotto, _'Pidgeotto has a disadvantage so...'_ He recalled the large avian and thanked her for her performance.

Tom looked surprised at move before sneering at Ash, "So, you decided to recall that oversized turkey before my Elekid fried your useless Pokémon. At least you have _some_ brains."

Ash laughed, "You _really _need to work on your insults and attitude." Ash said, amusement lacing his voice, before glaring at Tom, "The only reason why I recalled Pidgeotto was because I have a Pokémon who could easily crush that Elekid. Why would I play at a disadvantage when I can turn this battle to my advantage." Before Tom had a chance to respond to his claims Ash turned his eyes to Pikachu, "It's your turn buddy." Pikachu grinned and bounded into battlefield, eager for battle. Ash smirked, _'No Electric-Type can beat _my_ Pikachu.'_

Tom studied Pikachu intently. Ash had easily crushed his Spearow, he wasn't going to take anymore chances. It appeared Tom at least had some brains. From his perspective Ash's Pikachu looked normal except for the fur patterns on it's ears. He sneered, _'It doesn't look tough, but then again, I thought the same of that Pidgeotto and it crushed my Spearow easily.' _He looked up, glaring at Ash, _'I can't give him the chance to counter attack, given what I've seen chances are that his Pokémons attacks are far more powerful than mine. Electric-Type attacks won't be very effective so...' _He started off immediately, "Elekid! Use Brick Break!" Elekid jumped up high into the air, left arm raised and shining brightly for a Brick Break attack.

Ash's eyes narowed, "Intercept with Iron Tail!" Pikachu's lightning bolt tail became enshrouded in a shining gray energy as he used Iron Tail. With a battle cry Pikachu jumped up high into the air, intending to meet Elekid's Brick Break attack head on. Elekid came down and swung his Brick Break while Pikachu swung around in mid-air and swiped with his tail at Elekid. Brick Break and Iron Tail met with a loud metallic clang and halted each other. Pikachu and Elekid glared at each other, both trying valiantly to push their attacks through.

Tom smirked, "Thunder Wave!" Elekid mimicked his expression and gathered the blue lightning of Thunder Wave at his horns, preparing to launch it.

Ash acted quickly, "Break of with Quick-Attack and then use Dig!" Pikachu broke the deadlock with Elekid and used Elekid's body as a springboard to shoot himself downwards, using Quick-Attack to speed up his descent. Just as Elekid launched the Thunder Wave Pikachu reached the ground and swiftly dug himself underground. The blue bolt of lightning harmlessly struck the ground.

Just as Elekid landed on the ground the soil beneath him exploded upwards as Pikachu appeared. Pikachu rammed one of his tiny fist under Elekid's chin, launching him back towards his trainer as he flew through the air in a lazy arc. Elekid cried out in pain as the super-effective attack struck him. He slammed into the ground, right in front of Tom.

"Get up Elekid!" Tom shouted in anger. Elekid struggled to stand, trying to push himself up in a standing position. Ash wouldn't give him the chance.

"Pikachu! Hit him with rapid Quick-Attacks wherever his guard is down!" Ash bellowed his command. Pikachu shot of, a bright white light shining across his body and a trail of light following in his wake as he sped off. Just as Elekid managed to stand up straight Pikachu rammed his Quick-Attack enhanced body into Elekid's stomach, knocking the wind out of him and knocking him back. Before Elekid even had the chance to right himself Pikachu rammed into his side. Pikachu continued to ram himself into Elekid from all angles, knocking him around and steadily draining his strength.

"Finish it with Iron Tail!" Ash shouted. Pikachu jumped up high, his tail once again hardening as it took on steel like properties. He came down on Elekid and flipped in mid-air, intending to smash his Iron Tail into Elekid's head.

"Use Protect!" Tom shouted frantically. Elekid regained his balance and crossed his arms in an X formation as a green dome of energy appeared around his body. Pikachu's Iron Tail smashed into the shield and bounced off, "Follow up with Brick Break!" The green dome of energy collapsed and Elekid surged forwards, his left hand raised and shining brightly with Brick Break.

Ash smirked, "Block it and then use Thunder!" Pikachu smirked, getting Ash's idea and stood his ground. Elekid's Brick Break swung down on Pikachu's head. The small yellow rodent crosses his tiny arms above his head. Elekid's Brick Break came down and smashed into Pikachu, who winced at the blow and fell to a knee thanks to the force behind it. But then he smirked, his cheeks sparking violently with electricity.

"Pika-CHUUU! _(Take this)_!" Pikachu shouted as he used Thunder, mimicking his performance of the night before as the pillar of Thunder reappeared. Elekid, in spite of being an Electric-Type himself screamed in pain inside Pikachu's attack, Pikachu's attack being powerful enough to negate the advantage he would have had in weathering the attack.

The attack ended a moment later. Pikachu jumped back to Ash with a smirk on his face. Elekid was still standing...with swirls for eyes. He fell over backwards, completely knocked out cold.

"Great work Pikachu!" Ash said. Pikachu pumped his fist and Riolu clapped for his friends victory.

Ash's Pokédex, that was in his pocket, started to vibrate. Ash, Knowing what was going on simply allowed the machine to do it's work. The red machine activated with a beep, "Winner of the 2 on 2 battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, Age: 10, and Tom Rolicks of Viridian City, Age: 10, is Ash Ketchum... Calculating winnings...Calculating...done... Ash Ketchum receives 112 Credits." The red machine informed it's owner

Meanwhile, Tom recalled his Elekid, a stormy expression on his face, he was just barely being able to contain his rage at being defeated so handedly. Without saying anything he started stomping towards the exit of the battlefield, meaning that he had to pass by Ash. As he passed by the young trainer he halted for a moment, a deep sneer on his face as he spook spitefully, "That was just luck. Next time I'll crush you."

Ash snorted while glaring at Tom over his shoulder, "I wonder how your parents are able to stomach such a brat for a child."

There was swift movement as Tom's rage overtook him. The only reason Ash reacted in time was because he felt the attack coming through his Aura. He ducked under the fist that had been screaming towards the back of his head and placed his hands on the ground as he crouched. He spun around, still crouching on the ground, and swiped Tom's feet out from under him with his left leg. Tom felt to the ground with a startled yelp. Ash stood back up straight, spun around and raised his left foot of off the ground. He sneered at the downed form of Tom and channeled his Aura into his left leg and then he rammed his left foot into Tom's stomach. Tommy curled around the blow as his lungs suddenly had no more oxygen in them.

Ash glared at Tom who was desperately trying to get air into his lungs, "You must be the most horrible person I ever had the displeasure of meeting. I hope I never meet such a brat like you again." Pikachu and Riolu jumped back onto his shoulders, both glaring at the pitiful form of Tom. With one last sneer at Tom Ash turned on his heel and left without looking back.

There was one thought on Ash's mind, though, that he kept asking himself, _'Why did he react like that at the mention of his parents.'_ Ash wondered as he walked off.

Back with Tom, he had managed to drag himself in a kneeling position with his hands on the ground. He was still desperately trying to suck in air and his body was trembling heavily, but not from pain, but from rage.

_'Ash Ketchum.'_ Tom growled, his hands turning into fists as he dragged his fingers through the soil in anger, _'You will pay.'_

_'You will pay!'_

* * *

The next day we find Ash and Misty walking through Viridian Forest early in the morning. After Misty had asked nurse Joy to look after her bike since having to drag it with her now that's she would be traveling with Ash would be rather annying they had set out. The pair had left early in the morning in order to avoid the people in Viridian City since their actions at the Pokémon Center two days ago had made the pair quite famous in the small city. They had been walking for about an hour.

Gyarados had completely recovered from his injuries in a day thanks to nurse Joy's careful tending to him. Misty had gotten him back this morning and the pair had left shortly after.

Misty sighed as she walked besides Ash, her red backpack slung over her shoulder, "Hey, Ash." She said, getting his attention, "This has been bothering me ever since you came back yesterday. What happened? You seemed slightly...off after you came back." Misty asked hesitantly. After all, she had only known him for not even two days. Asking such a question was a bit bad mannered, at least, she thought off it like that.

Ash shook his head and smiled, "It's nothing. I just met some jackass who was incredibly rude. Long story short he challenged me to a battle, I kicked his ass and then he tried to attack me in the back after he had lost the match."

Misty frowned, "How rude! I'm now kinda happy that I didn't come with you yesterday." She looked at Ash from the corner of her eyes, "What happened then?"

Ash snorted, "I dodged his attack and took his legs out from under him. I then kicked him in the stomach and walked away."

Misty shook her head, "Was that really necessary? I mean it's the same as kicking a man when he's down, literally."

Ash snorted again, "The prick had it coming, besides, types like him only learn something from a good smack down."

Misty frowned, but before she could say anything she was interrupted by a shout. Ash's, Misty's, Riolu's and Pikachu's heads snapped into the direction the shout had come from. Their eyes widened at what they saw.

"Help!" A boy clothed in a samurai get up and around Ash's age shouted as he tried to run away from an angry swarm of Beedrill's that where chasing him.

Beedrill mostly resembles a bipedal wasp, however, it only has four legs instead of six and lacks pigment pits. Beedrill's head is round with a slightly pointed mouth, with large, shiny red eyes and antennae in the shape of the number 7. Its legs are connected to its body by its thorax, and the first two are tipped with long, conical stingers. It stands on it's other two legs, which are long, segmented and insect-like in shape. Beedrill has two pairs of rounded, veined wings, and another stinger on its striped abdomen.

The Beedrill's at the front of the angry swarm angled their conical stingers at the running youth as they started to shine in preparation for an attack that only a few Bug-Types could perform: Twineedle. About half a dozen Beedrill's fired two bursts off Twineedle lances, each sending out four separate sharp energy lances at the running samurai.

The samurai looked over his shoulder. His eyes widened as he panicked, "Oh, shit!" He shouted as he started running even faster in a vain attempt to out run the Twineedle's heading his way.

Luckily, Ash would save him, "Pidgeotto! Use Gust!" Ash hurled Pidgeotto's Pokéball high up into the air which opened up to reveal the Flying and Normal-Type. Pidgeotto flapped her wings as hard as she could, creating an extremely harsh torrent of wind. The harsh torrent of wind traveled quickly and reached far. It flew over the still madly running for his live samurai and struck all the Twineedle energy lances. The energy lances wavered as the Gust attack struck them and after a moment they dispelled as the Gust attack destroyed them. The harsh torrent of wind continued on and struck the half a dozen Beedrill's that had fired the Twineedle attack, making them screech in pain as the super-effective attack struck them and knocked them down to the ground. The rest of the swarm managed to evade the attack, but only barely.

The swarm paused, hovering in mid-air as they warily studied their new enemies who had defended the intruder. Meanwhile, their comrades shook of the damage they had taken from Pidgeotto's Gust and took flight again. Seeing that they weren't picking for a fight, at least not one that was more dangerous then they liked, and that they had already chased the intruder from their territory the swarm turned around and flew off.

Ash sighed in relieve. He recalled Pidgeotto after having thanked her for her help, and turned his attention to the samurai, who had fallen to his knees in front of him, panting heavily, "Are you all right?"

The samurai didn't answer immediately, instead he continued taking great gulps of air and tried to steady his rapidly beating heart. He calmed down after a moment and stood up. The samurai smiled in gratitude at him and grabbed his hand and started shaking it fiercely, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I really thought for a moment that I was a goner!"

Ash was taken aback by the gesture, but he still smiled at the samurai, "It's no problem."

The samurai released his hand and bowed his head in gratitude. He was about to say something else to Ash when he straightened again but something caught his attention. The samurai blinked, "Uhm, what's wrong with your friend."

Ash blinked and looked at Misty who seemed to be frozen. The expression on her face set in stone, reflecting pure fear, and her posture was tense. Ash snapped his fingers in front of her face multiple times, trying to snap her out of it, "Misty! Misty are all right! Snap out off it!" Misty blinked, hearing Ash's voice...and then she screamed at the top of her lungs, releasing a cry that a banshee would be proud off.

Ash, the samurai, Riolu and Pikachu quickly covered their ears, trying to block out the unholy screech to no success. After a full minute of screaming Misty stopped, panting heavily and with a sore throat.

Ash took his hands from his ear, "What the hell was that for!"

Misty caught her breath and answered, "Sorry, but I have a fear for Bug-Types. Those Beedrill's really scared me."

Ash and the rest sweatdropped, "And then you start screaming _after _they had left." He asked incredulously.

Misty laughed nervously, "I froze when I saw them. My reaction was just a bit delayed."

"We noticed." The samurai mumbled. Misty got a tick mark.

"Anyway." Ash interrupted, turning his attention to the samurai, "What in Arceus name did you do to piss off an entire swarm of Beedrill's?"

The samurai blushed, looking away, "I, uhm, forgot to stay the hell away from the Beedrill's territory. I wasn't paying attention and walked right into their breeding grounds. As you noticed, they were pissed off."

"We noticed." Misty deadpanned, deliberately repeating the samurai's own words back into his face. The samurai got a tick mark. Ash facepalmed. Riolu and Pikachu chuckled.

The samurai calmed down and looked at Ash. A glint of recognition appeared in his eyes, "Hey, are you Ash Ketchum? The Pallet Town trainer that defeated the Team Rocket Grunts that attacked the Viridian City Pokémon Center two days ago?"

The moment Ash nodded the samurai got a maniac grin on his face, "I challenge you to a battle!" The samurai said, grabbing a Pokéball. Seeing Ash's surprised expression he decided to elaborate, "I've battled every Pallet Town trainer that had passed through here, always losing. I want to prove myself by battling you."

Ash raised an eyebrow before nodding his consent and grinning, "What conditions?" He asked.

The samurai grinned, pleased that Ash had accepted his challenge, "One on one. So no substitutions off course."

Ash grinned, "Fine by me!"

Misty sighed and walked to the side and sat down on a knocked down tree stump, looking at both trainers who were about to square of.

The samurai threw his Pokéball. In a white blaze of light a Pinser appeared. The Bug-Type landed with a 'thump' on the ground, eyes sharp and ready for battle.

Ash looked closely at Pinser who chopped his pincers together eager for battle. Ash raised his Pokédex and allowed it to do it's magic, "Pinser, the Stag Beetle Pokémon. Pinsir's horns/pincers have enough crushing power to shatter thick logs and allow it to lift things twice its own weight. It's horns are very flexible, and are capable of being launched downwards."

Ash cocked his head, _'An interesting opponent.'_ He mused. He grinned, _'Bug-Types are weak against Flying-Types so...'_ He grabbed Pidgeotto's Pokéball and once again released the Normal and Flying-Type. Pidgeotto chirped, surprised to be needed again so soon, until she saw her opponent. Pidgeotto grinned, understanding why Ash had chosen her.

Ash decided to start things off, "Pidgeotto! Use Quick-Attack!" Pidgeotto flapped her wings and took flight. Her body was enshrouded in white energy as she shot forwards, a white energy trailing in her wake as she sped up immensely.

"Catch her with ViceGrip!" The samurai countered quickly. Pinser stood it's ground and angled it's horns forwards. They where wide open, ready to catch Pidgeotto in a ViceGrip.

Just as Pidgeotto was but a second away from Pinser's horns Ash decided to change tactics, "Aerial Ace!" Suddenly, the white wind blades of Aerial Ace appeared around Pidgeotto's body and she suddenly disappeared. Pidgeotto reappeared as she rammed into Pinser's back. Pinser stumbled forwards and let out a screech of pain. Ash gave no quarter, "Now use Air Slash!" Pidgeotto flapped her wings with a lot of force, creating two white wind blades and launching them towards Pinser. The wind blades smashed into Pinser's back. Pinser let out another deafening screech of pain as the super-effective attack struck. Pinser toppled over, the damage simply being to much for him.

The samurai gaped at how fast he was defeated. He sighed and recalled his Pinser.

"Well done Pidgeotto!" Ash said. Pidgeotto chirped happily as she landed on his outstretched arm. He petted her on the head and give her a Pokétreat. Pikachu and Riolu looked enviously at Pidgeotto. She chewed it down happily. As soon as she was done eating it Ash recalled her.

Ash Pokédex activated with a beep, Ash didn't bother taking it's from his pocket as the machine did it's work, "Winner of the 1 on 1 battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, Age: 10, and Alex Smith of Viridian City, Age: 10, is Ash Ketchum... Calculating winnings...Calculating...done... Ash Ketchum receives 42 Credits." The red machine informed it's owner

The now named Alex walked up to Ash as Misty stood up and made her way over to him as well. Alex smiled lightly at Ash, "Thanks for the battle and showing me how much stronger I still need to become. It was nice to meet you Ash and..." The samurai blinked and looked at Misty, not having gotten her name.

Misty got the hint. She smiled at the samurai, "I'm Misty and now that we're on the matter of names what's your name? I didn't hear it when Ash's Pokédex calculated his winnings."

The samurai smiled, "Call me Alex."

Ash smiled at Alex, "It was nice meeting you, Alex." He held out his hand. Alex took it and shook it firmly.

"It certainly was. I have to go now. I hoop to see you both soon again." Alex said. He walked past Ash and Misty and headed into the direction of Viridian City. He waved over his shoulder, "Goodbye!"

Ash, Misty, Riolu and Pikachu watched him leave before turning around and continuing down the path. Continuing on to Pewter City.

* * *

At the end of the day, as sunshine gives way to dusk and the world becomes bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun Ash and Misty found themselves in the middle of Viridian Forest, close by a lake. Ash looked around, the lake was pretty big and had a pier close by a small abandoned shack. To his right he could see a wooden table with two wooden benches.

Misty clapped her hands in glee, "Perfect! This is the best spot to rest for the night."

Ash nodded, a small smile on his face, "That it is. I'll go check out the hut."

Misty nodded, smiling at him, "Good, I'll search for some twigs and branches to start a fire."

"All right then." Ash said, and started walking towards the shack while Misty walked back into the forest, looking for dry twigs and branches.

Half an hour later Ash and Misty where eating a late dinner. Ash and Misty sat at the wooden table, eating a couple of prepared sandwiches. To their left a small campfire crackled in the slowly fading day, providing warmth, comfort and light for the oncoming night. Riolu, Pikachu and Pidgeotto where also at the table, eating their share of the food. Misty's Staryu and Starmie where with them, also enjoying their late dinner. Misty hadn't released Gyarados yet, preferring to give him her full attention when she took care of him for the first time.

"Hey Misty." Ash called for Misty's attention after having taken another bite from his sandwich, "You didn't tell me why you wanted to become a master Water Pokémon trainer. Why is that your goal?"

Misty looked up, surprised at the line if questioning. She swallowed her last bit of her sandwich and crossed her arms on the table as she leaned on them, giving Ash and inquisitive look, "Why the sudden interest?"

Ash shrugged, "We don't know much about each other and asking for the reason why you pursue your greatest dream was the best start of a conversation I could think of. I just want to learn more about what drives you."

Misty was silent for a moment, thinking about his words, before answering with a small smile on her face, "Fair enough." She said, "Ever since I can remember I have been close to Water-Type Pokémon. My entire family trains Water-Types. I grew up with them and I adore Water-Types. It's just who I want to be, the best Water-Type trainer ever." She looked Ash in the eyes, a question coming to her, "And why do you want to be a Pokémon Master and Aura Guardian?"

Ash finished his sandwich and looked up to the rapidly darkening sky, "I've dreamed of being a Pokémon Master since I was four years old. I've always feeled drawn to Pokémon and I wanted to be the best at anything Pokémon related. So of course my goal became becoming a Pokémon Master. As for my dream to become an Aura Guardian, that's a bit more complicated." Ash turned his eyes back to Misty, who looked intrigued back at him, "I actually started learning how to harness my Aura before I knew that Aura Guardians had even existed. Riolu was teaching me to how to harness my Aura. One day my mother gave me a book she had gotten from professor Oak. It was called _The Secrets of the Aura Guardian_. I read it and became captivated by it. I absolutely adored what an Aura Guardian represented, a _real_ hero. As corny as it is it captured my imagination and before I knew it becoming an Aura Guardian had become my goal just as much as becoming an Pokémon Master."

Misty was silent after his explanation, mulling over his words. She smiled at him, "For what it's worth, I hope for you that you'll reach you're goals."

Ash smiled back at her, "And I hope the same for you."

Both trainers fell silent, just enjoying each others company and the nice and cool night air. After ten minutes Musty stood up, slightly startling Ash and made way for the pier, retrieving Gyarados's Pokéball from her red backpack as she walked to the end of the pier. Ash stood up, signaling for Pikachu to come with him. The rodent jumped to his place on Ash's shoulder without question. The rest watched curiously as the boy followed Misty to the edge of the pier.

Misty stood at the very edge of the pier, looking out over the black water that reflected the full moon and bright stars that where clearly visible high above in the night sky, Gyarados's Pokéball tightly clenched in her hand. Misty was worried. She hadn't defeated and captured Gyarados by her own merit. Ash had beaten him, very soundly two, and had allowed her to capture him. A fact that still baffled her somewhat. Why someone would simply give away such a powerful Pokémon just liked that was beyond her understanding.

Anyway, the fact was that Pokémon respected strength. When a trainer defeats a Pokémon and captures it one can almost guarantee that you have won a measure of respect from the Pokémon in question. But she hadn't done that, she had simply taken Gyarados when Ash had allowed her too. The more she thought about the less she believed that Gyarados would listen to her. A small part of her was even afraid that he might even attack her the moment she released him.

She was startled from her thoughts when Ash placed a reasuring hand on her shoulder. He had been able to sense her turbulent emotions easily through his Aura.

Ash smiled, an expression that went unseen behind the Water-Type trainer, "Relax." Ash said, "There's nothing to be worried about. Our Pokémon are right here to protect us if Gyarados starts acting out. And besides, Pikachu can put him down easily if he tries anything and Gyarados knows it. I'm sure that he won't be stupid enough to attack knowing what Pikachu can do to him."

Misty nodded, reassured by his words. She enlarged the Pokéball with a click of a button and hurled it up high into the air. The Pokéball opened and in a white flash of light the huge sea serpent that was Gyarados appeared in his full glory, roaring to the heavens. Misty caught the Pokéball on it's return journey back to the ground. Gyarados stopped roaring and looked down, growling lowly as he saw Misty. He inspected his new trainer, surprised that she was looking him dead in the eyes without flinching.

Gyarados's eyes straid to the right, locating Ash and Pikachu, who were watching him intently, judging if he was a threat to them through their eyes and in Ash's case through his Aura.

Any thought of attacking anything died in Gyarados's mind when he saw Pikachu's cheeks spark in warning. He was moderately violent and easy to anger at times yes, but he was not stupid.

Gyarados turned his piercing and fierce eyes back to Misty, noting that she was still looking at him without fear, studying him.

Then the Human girl started speaking, voicing some words that surprised him, "I know that you'll probably won't want to listen to me, Gyarados. With the way I captured you, but please allow me to say my part."

Gyarados, while not showing it, was intrigued by the girl. He decided to humour her and nodded his consent, curious at what she had to say to him.

Misty, emboldened by Gyarados agreement, spoke softly but with a firm edge to it, "I know that I didn't beat you and capture you on my own merit but I hope that we will be able to work together regardless. You don't have to like me or even respect me I just want to be able to work with you and maybe even become friends in the future. If things don't work out I'll release you." Misty said, suprising the great sea serpent greatly, "I just ask for one thing. Give our partnership a chance."

Gyarados listened in silence, taking everything in. He was actually considering the offer. Traveling with a trainer would be the perfect chance to find powerful opponents to fight. If he agreed and if he found that he didn't like being with a trainer he could be released at a moments notice. On top of that the girl seemed reasonable enough to be his trainer.

Gyarados nodded. Misty beamed.

* * *

A couple of days later Ash and Misty could be seen exiting Viridian Forest around mid day. There was no cloud in the sky and the sun stood up high in the sky, beating down incredible warmth.

They had taken their time through the forest, simply enjoying their time and taking the chance to train their Pokémon some more, and in Misty's case connect with Gyarados. They where walking down the open path that led to Pewter City. High reaching grass was on both sides of the open path.

Ash was having a silent conversation with Riolu and Pikachu through their thoughts and Aura, who were as usual riding on his shoulders. Misty walked besides them just lost in thought and enjoying the warmth of the sun.

Suddenly Ash stopped walking and placed his hand in front of Misty, stopping her in her tracks. The girl gave him a questioning glance, "What's wrong?"

Instead of answering her question Ash crouched, taking extra care to keep the Pokémon on his shoulders stable, and picked up an errant rock. He hurled it out over the pad in front of them. It landed on the ground with a soft hollow sounding 'thud'. Misty's eyes widened as the ground in front of them caved in, revealing a deep pitfall trap.

Ash growled and turned to a particular patch of high grass. His Aura sight allowed him to see the two people and Pokémon hiding in it just like it had allowed him to see the pitfall trap in advance.

"I know you're there," Ash growled, "There's no sense in hiding anymore."

The grass rustled but nothing appeared from it. Ash growled, "Fine then! Pikachu! Use ThunderBolt!" He commanded, pointing at the patch of grass. Pikachu nodded and jumped up from his shoulder, his cheeks sparking in preparation for ThunderBolt. As soon as he landed on the ground he launched the golden coloured ThunderBolt at the patch of grass.

"Oh, CRAP!" Three voices shouted at the same time. Just as the ThunderBolt had almost reached the patch of grass three figures jumped up and over the ThunderBolt, revealing Team Rocket. The Pokémon thieves landed on the dirt road. All three where glaring at Ash, "What was that for!" They once again screamed in unison.

Ash smirked at them, "You know full well why I did that you stupid Pokémon thieves! And besides, shouldn't you be worrying about something else."

Team Rocket and Misty blinked, not knowing what he was talking about. Riolu smirked, already knowing what Ash's plan was, "What're you talking about Twerp! There's nothing to worry about." Jessie said, confused.

James got annoyed, "He's just trying to confuse us! Don't let him get to you!" He said, and grabbed Koffing's Pokéball. Jessie nodded and grabbed Ekans Pokéball as well.

Meowth smirked at Ash, "You're tricks won't work on us Twerp!"

Ash smirked right back, "I don't need tricks!" He declared while mentally counting off, _'Three...two...one...now!'_

Jessie and James where about to throw their Pokéballs until they saw a very brief blaze of yellow in the corner of their eyes. Suddenly, the ThunderBolt that Pikachu had fired a little earlier had come back around, Pikachu guiding it's movements, and struck them in the back. Team Rocket screamed in pain as the electricity coursed through their bodies. In a flash of light, and without a visible reason, something ignited in James pocket and detonated, sending Team Rocket flying once again.

"Team Rocket! Blasting of again!" The trio screamed and flew off into the sky, quickly becoming nothing more than a twinkle on the horizon.

Ash laughed, "Good work Pikachu. That'll show them not to mess with us." Pikachu nodded, grinning at Ash's words.

Riolu, who was still lazing around on Ash's shoulder, snorted loudly, _"I hope so. They're annoying to deal with."_

Misty shook her head and muttered, "I have a feeling that we'll see them again soon enough. They don't look like the types to easily give up."

Ash sighed, "Let's just hope that you're wrong." Ash said. Meanwhile, Pikachu jumped back onto his shoulders, "Well, let's keep moving." Ash said, and continued walking, tracking around the pitfall and further down the path. Misty followed him.

Ten minutes of walking later and Ash could see Pewter City looming in the distance. He was so excited. It was almost time for his first ever Gym battle. He was so excited that he was positively bristling.

A low and gravely voice cut through his excitement, "Ah, newcomers." He heard. Ash and Misty looked to their left to see a man sitting on a large rock besides the path, "Welcome to Pewter City. From the Pokémon riding your shoulders, I'm guessing that you're a trainer. Here to challenge Brock and get your first badge?" The man questioned.

Ash took a closer look at the man. He had a grey beard and had a dark complexion. He was a few feet taller than Ash, and was wearing a cap, which shadowed his eyes, "Yep. What is it to you?"

The older man laughed, "I'm just curious." The man peered closely at Ash's Pokémon, "You have some interesting Pokémon but that won't help you against Pewter City's Gym leader, Brock. He's as strong as the rock that Pewter City is famous for. Speaking of which, you want any souvenirs?" He gestured to his side and Ash noticed the small shop besides the man, the shelves filled with rocks with price tags attached to them.

Both Ash and Misty shook their heads. The man sighed, "To bad. Good luck in your match, kid. You're gonna need it."

Ash got a tick mark and Misty giggled. Riolu and Pikachu looked annoyed. They had trained hard for the start of their journey, there was no way that they'll lose now!

The man bid his goodbye and disappeared back into his shop. Misty and Ash continued down the path, getting closer and closer to Pewter City. Closer to Ash's long-awaited Gym match.

_'I'm gonna win this for sure!'_ Ash thought, his confidence shining brightly.

* * *

Later in the day, around three hours later, Ash and Misty found themselves in front of the Pewter City Gym. The building was constructed out of metal and granite and resembled one huge two-story tall rock.

After they had made a pit stop at the Pokémon Center and had their Pokémon looked after they had immediately set out for the Gym. After of course having asked for directions to the Gym from nurse Joy and asking for any additional information on the Gym leader

"What are you going to do Ash?" Misty questioned, slightly concerned, "From what we learned from that man and nurse Joy we know that the Pewter City Gym leader specializes in Ground and Rock-Types. A type combination that is bad news for your Pikachu and Pidgeotto. Only Riolu will be a good match up against this Gym leader."

Despite her words Ash smirked, still feeling confident, "While I will be for the most part in a disadvantage against this Gym leader types and advantages aren't everything in a Pokémon battle. Besides, I trained my Pokémon to fight against types they are weak against. Right guys!" Riolu and Pikachu nodded, both smirking and pumped for battle.

Misty sighed, "If you say so." She said, a tiny bit of her doubt shining through.

Ash ignored it and pushed against the entrance door of the Gym. The door creaked as it swung open, revealing a dark room. Both trainers walked into the darkness.

"Who goes there!" A voice was heard from the back of the dark room. Suddenly, there was the briefest hum of electricity as a light turned on with a relatively loud click. A beam of light fell from the ceiling that illuminated the entire Gym, revealing a dark-skinned young man sitting indian style on top of a raised platform.

"I'm Ash Ketchum!" Ash called out, "And I'm here for a battle!"

The Gym leader, aka Brock, raised an eyebrow, "And your friend." He said, looking at Misty.

Misty shook her head, "I'm only here to watch."

Brock nodded and stood up. He jumped down from the raised platform and started to approach them. Allowing Ash to get a better look at him. Brock looked about fifteen years old and was a dark-skinned youth with spiky brown hair and what looked to be permanently closed eyes. He wore a light brown short-sleeved shirt under a light green with no sleeves vest. His dark brown pants was held up by a belt and he wore blue sneakers.

Brock looked at Ash with a piercing stare, "Official Gym battles are different from normal battles. It's my duty to judge if you're ready for the big leagues. There are special sets of rules that you'll need to follow." He said, his voice as hard as his favorite type, "How long have you had those Pokémon on your shoulders?"

Ash blinked, surprised at the question, "I've had Riolu for about three years and Pikachu for about two and a half years."

Brocks eyes actually became briefly visible as they widened in surprise. The kid in front of him looked ten years old, and as such should only have been a Pokémon trainer for a short amount of time, _'He must have gotten his Pokémon earlier on than others.'_ He mused, _'He must be a special case. Better not underestimate him.'_

"All right then! I accept your challenge!" Brock announced and snapped his fingers, causing the space between Ash and Brock to start rumbling. Ash and the rest looked surprised as the ground in front of them split in two and shifted to the side. A new battlefield emerged from underground, taking the place of the previous simple stone floor. It was a battlefield made out of rugged rock with a lot of rock outcroppings and good-sized boulders.

"This will be a three on three battle! Only the challenger will be allowed to substitute their Pokémon! The battle will be over when one side is unable to continue!" Brock laid out the rules as he grabbed a Pokéball, "Begin!" He hurled the Pokéball and in a white flash of light a Geodude appeared on the battlefield.

Ash took out his Pokédex and pointed it at Geodude, "Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. Geodude is often found on mountain roads with half of its body buried in the ground so it can observe mountain travelers."

Ash put his Pokédex away, _'I better start out with small and agile, using speed to my advantage.'_ He thought. Ash pointed to the battlefield, "Pikachu, you're up!" Pikachu smirked and jumped from his shoulder and landed a small ways away from Geodude, facing his opponent.

Brock raised an eyebrow at his opponents choice of Pokémon. He looked Ash in the eyes and noted that he looked very confident, _'He's got something up his sleeve.'_ Brock thought, _'Better be careful.' _He pointed at Pikachu, "Geodude, use Hidden Power!" Geodude nodded and crossed it's arms into an X formation as it's body was outlined by a white light. Small white spheres of energy materialized all around Geodude's rocky body. Geodude threw it's arms wide, shooting the white spheres of Hidden Power right at Pikachu.

Ash grinned, "Pikachu, use Agility!" Pikachu promptly disappeared in a massive burst of speed, courtesy of Agility. Pikachu blurred through the Hidden Power attack, avoiding every single white sphere and closing in on Geodude as he bum rushed the Rock Pokémon, "And now Iron Tail!" Pikachu jumped, his tail hardening into steel and shining brightly, before flipping in mid-air and coming down on Geodude tail first.

Brock countered immediately, "Use Focus Punch!" Geodude clenched it's fist and reared back it's arm as white energy coated the Rock Pokémon's fist as it readied Focus Punch. Just as Pikachu was about to ram his Iron Tail into Geodude it struck. Iron Tail met Focus Punch, creating a small shockwave.

Pikachu smirked and suddenly threw his body weight to the left, dislodging his tail from the stand off with Geodude's fist. Geodude seemed to stumble in mid-air at the sudden shift. Pikachu spun his body that was still in mid-air around and rammed the Iron Tail into Geodude's side. Geodude cried out in pain and was flung back.

"Hang on Geodude!" Brock encouraged his Pokémon. Geodude halted it's backwards momentum with some effort, panting mildly from the damage it had taken. Brock looked intently at his opponent, _'It's clear that Ash has trained his Pokémon to be able to effectively fight against types they're weak against. I have to play to my advantages if I want to win.'_ He thought, before ordering, "Geodude, use Rollout!" Geodude tucked it's in his arms close to it's body before it started spinning vertically. Geodude shots forwards and downwards as the boulder-like Pokémon started rolling over the ground, picking up speed and leaving a trench in the stone floor.

"Pikachu, dodge with Dig!" Pikachu dived to the ground and quickly burrowed himself underground, evading Geodude's Rollout as it simply rolled over the hole that Pikachu had disappeared into. Geodude turned around still using Rollout, hoping that Pikachu had reappeared again, only to have it's hopes dashed by Ash's next words, "Now Pikachu!" Pikachu reappeared right under Geodude, punching it's rolling body hard enough to halt Geodude's Rollout and to sent it flying straight up. Geodude cried out in pain from the super-effective attack. It became even worse when Geodude rammed into the rove of the Gym with a loud metallic clang. Geodude fell to the ground. Geodude landed with a thud on the ground, knocked out cold.

Ash cheered, "Good job Pikachu!" Riolu joined in on his cheering and Misty clapped for their first big win. Pikachu grinned.

Brock recalled Geodude, "You did good." He said to Geodude's Pokéball and put it way. He grabbed another Pokéball and enlarged it, "This battle is only just beginning Ash! Rhydon! Let's go!" Brock threw the Pokéball and in a white flash of light a Rhydon appeared, "Rhy. _(He he finally! A battle)_!" Rhydon said with a deep voice, indicating that it was male. His horn was spinning frantically in preparation for battle.

Ash once again used his Pokédex. The machine activated with a beep, "Rhydon, the Drill Pokémon. Rhydon is the evolved form of Rhyhorn. It is known as the Drill Pokémon. It's large horn gives it formidable attack power."

"Pikachu, return. I'm switching you out." This surprised every one. Pikachu dutifully turned around and exited the battlefield, taking his place besides Ash. Ash took out a Pokéball and threw it in the air. In a flash of white light Pidgeotto appeared, chirping as she flew up high. Ash smirked at Brocks surprised expression.

_'What's he planning. Does that Pidgeotto have something that can counter Rhydon?'_ Brock questioned himself as he studied Pidgeotto intently. This Pidgeotto looked rather well raised and had the unmistakable air of a powerful fighter around it. This was going to be a tough match up. _'Let's start of strong.' _Brock smirked, calling out one of the Rhydon's most powerful attacks, "Rhydon, use Stone Edge! Down that Pidgeotto!" Rhydon roared, his battle lust taking over as he prepared the attack. Two blue lines of energy appeared around Rhydon, which quickly transformed into dozen upon dozens of sharp stone daggers. With another roar Rhydon fired the stone daggers at Pidgeotto, who was flying high above him.

Ash's counter command was simple and to the point, "Dodge." Was the only word he spoke, filled with confidence in his Pokémons abilities. As the stone daggers of Stone Edge closed in on Pidgeotto she suddenly started moving at incredible speed. She ducked, weaved, barrel rolled and adjusted her speed, dodging every single stone dagger that exploded behind her against the steel rove of the Gym. Ash quickly assumed the offensive, "Air Slash!" Pidgeotto flapped her wings with a lot of force, generating two sharp blades of wind and launching them at Rhydon, _"And now Aerial Ace!" _Ash ordered Pidgeotto through his Aura so that Brock wouldn't hear it and wouldn't be able to see it coming.

"Block it!" Brock shouted. Rhydon places his armoured palms in front of him. With a mighty clap of wind the blades of wind crashed into the open palms of his hands, pushing him back and cutting into his palms in spite of his natural rock armour. Before Rhydon even had the chance to lower his arms Pidgeotto appeared in between them and rammed her Aerial Ace enhanced body under his chin, actually hitting him hard enough to knock his feet from the floor and throwing his body slightly backwards. Pidgeotto quickly ascended out of Rhydon's physical attack range.

Brock couldn't believe his eyes, "Why did Pidgeotto attack without you saying anything?!" He asked, shocked by the sudden attack.

Ash smirked, "It's a secret. Beat me and I'll tell you." Ash taunted. Brock got annoyed, clear from the slight twitching of his eyebrows.

Suddenly Brock smirked, an idea had formed in his mind that could turn the tables on Ash, "Rhydon, use Sandstorm!" Rhydon reared back his arm, a multicolored shine to it, and punched the ground. A Sandstorm was kicked up from the place that Rhydon had punched. It quickly covered the entire battlefield and caught Pidgeotto within it. Pidgeotto, who had nowhere to run from the Sandstorm, grimaced in pain as she was constantly buffeted by sand particles that steadily sapped at her strength. Brock grinned, _'With Pidgeotto steadily losing strength Ash will be forced to go on the offensive, leaving him open for counter attacks. Once he attacks that's when I'll strike.'_

Ash's eyes narrowed, _'So, he thinks that a Sandstorm will give him the edge that he needs to win. Fat chance!'_ Ash grinned, "Pidgeotto, use Aerial Ace!" Pidgeotto sped forwards in the roaring Sandstorm, the wind blades of Aerial Ace quickly forming around her body as her speed seemed to triple. She sped head on at Rhydon.

"Hammer Arm!" Brock ordered. Rhydon reared back his arm, that was shining a fierce orange as he powered up Hammer Arm. Rhydon watched closely as Pidgeotto closed in, waiting for the right moment to strike. That moment came as Pidgeotto suddenly increased her speed and shifted flight paths, hoping to surprise Rhydon, which failed as Rhydon's Hammer Arm met Pidgeotto's Aerial Ace directly, creating another shockwave. Shortly after there was an explosion as the colliding powers of Aerial Ace and Hammer Arm overloaded. Both Pidgeotto and Rhydon cried out in pain as they were knocked back from each other.

"Close the distance with Quick-Attack and then use Peck!" Ash continued on the offensive, seeing that the longer Pidgeotto was in the Sandstorm the more her strength would be sapped. Pidgeotto shot forwards as the power of Quick-Attack amplified her speed and her beak started shining brightly as it lengthened slightly. The moment Rhydon had recovered from their earlier collision Pidgeotto was already in front of Rhydon and rammed her beak into Rhydon's head and then followed up with a series of very rapid stabs with her beak at Rhydon's chest. Rhydon cried out in pain and stumbled back a bit at every blow Pidgeotto rained down on him.

"Crap! Rhydon, use Hammer Arm!" Brock cried out desperately, _'This is bad. That Pidgeotto's attacks are strong enough to make my counter attacks useless and is quick enough to evade Rhydon's long-range attacks easily! What am I supposed to do!'_ Brock was starting to panic, never having faced an opponent that outclassed him so much.

Rhydon reared back his arm again, which was once again enshrouded in angry orange power as he powered up Hammer Arm, ready to knock Pidgeotto away. Just as Rhydon punched out with his Hammer Arm powered arm Ash countered, "Aerial Ace!" Pidgeotto disappeared in a burst if wind. Rhydon's Hammer Arm attack when through nothing but air. Pidgeotto reappeared again as she once again rammed her Aerial Ace enhanced body under Rhydon's chin, this time with enough power to really sent Rhydon flying. Rhydon flew through the air in a lazy arc and crashed into the ground in front of Brock, making a moderately sized crater. Rhydon's eyes turned into swirls, the attack having knocked him out. Without Rhydon to power it the Sandstorm he had created lost it's energy and quickly dissipated.

"Well done Pidgeotto." Ash said, to which Pidgeotto chirped happily. Riolu and Pikachu cheered for their friend. Misty clapped once again for them, now grinning fiercely and confident that Ash would win.

Brock recalled Rhydon, thanking him for his efforts as he did so. There was a worried expression on Brock's face, _'Both my Geodude and my Rhydon have been beaten while I've barely been able to injure only one of my opponents Pokémon and then only through an area effect move. This is very bad. Ash is crushing me easily.'_ Brock's stance hardened suddenly as he gathered his resolve to continue fighting, _'Fine then! Even if I lose I will not forfeit and I will make Ash work for the Boulder Badge!'_ Brock grabbed his final Pokéball and with a roar he released his last and most poweful Pokémon, "Onix! Show them what it means to have a determination of stone!"

"_(For my trainer I _will_ beat you)_!" Onix roared, his voice decidedly male two.

Ash quickly took out his Pokédex again and trained it on Onix, "Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon. It tunnels through the ground which shakes when it raises it's thunderous roar. It can move through the ground at fifty miles per hour."

Ash looked slightly wide eyed at the huge titan of stone in front of him, but quickly calmed himself, knowing that his Pokémon had the power to defeat Onix. He held up a Pokéball and recalled Pidgeotto. He quickly put her Pokéball back on his belt and turned his eyes towards Riolu. Both trainer and Pokémon smirked at each other, "It's your turn to kick ass Riolu."

Riolu laughed, _"It's about time!"_ Riolu jumped from Ash's shoulder and took his place on the battlefield, glaring right back at the Onix.

Brock studied Riolu, noting that he didn't recognize him and as such knew nothing of his Pokémon species and abilities, _'It won't matter. Onix won't let me down!'_ Brock threw his arm to the side as he ordered, "Onix! Use Slam!" Onix surged forwards, using impressive speed as the tail end of his body shined a bright white as he powered up Slam.

"Dodge at the last moment Riolu!" Riolu nodded and used his Aura to predict how Onix was going to attack. He smirked as he saw the execution of the attack in his mind's eye.

Onix tail came down on him from above, intending to smash Riolu into the ground. At the last possible second Riolu threw his body to the left, evading the Slam attack that smashed and cratered the ground he had stood on. Riolu rolled his body into a crouched position just as Onix threw his tail into his direction from the side. Riolu jumped, evading the massive glowing tail. Riolu gained air quickly and actually flew above the stone goliath that was his opponent, "And now use Aura Sphere!" Riolu smirked and cupped his paws, forming the bright blue sphere of Aura in between them in a second. With a battle cry Riolu hurled the sphere at Onix's head with incredible speed. Onix looked up and saw the Aura Sphere coming but the attack was coming to fast for him to dodge. The Aura Sphere struck him right in between his eyes. Onix rocked back and screeched in pain as the super-effective attack took it's toll on him.

"Don't flinch Onix! Use Stone Edge!" Onix steadied himself and roared as two blue lines of energy appeared around his body, that quickly generated into sharp stone daggers.

With Riolu flying in mid-air he would have no way to dodge, but then again, he didn't need to, "Repel that with Copycat!" Ash commanded. Riolu took a deep look at how Onix had generated the attack, studying it in it's smallest detail, and copied the process into his mind. Riolu crossed his arms in front of his body as the two blue energy lines of Stone Edge appeared around his body. The blue lines quickly turned into sharp stone daggers.

Both Riolu and Onix launched the stone daggers at the same time, at the same speed and the same power. The two waves of stone daggers met centre field, right in between Riolu and Onix, pulverizing each other one by one until no stone daggers where left.

"Onix! Use Dig! Strike the moment Riolu lands!" Onix quickly reared back his body before diving straight towards the ground. With a thundering crash of stone meeting stone Onix disappeared underground. Meanwhile, Riolu continued falling to the ground, not looking worried at all.

"You know what to do Riolu!" Ash shouted, before smirking and using his Aura to link minds with Riolu, _"Counter with Force Palm and then finish it with Aura Sphere." _Riolu closed his eyes and activated his Aura sight, allowing him to see Onix positioning himself under him. Riolu smirked and threw both his arms wide, palms wide open. His right palm lighted up with Force Palm and a smaller Aura Sphere then normal formed in his left palm. Just as Riolu was but a meter from the floor Onix appeared from the ground with a roar, dead set to ram his head into Riolu. Riolu countered lightning fast. His right palm, reinforced with Force Palm smashed into Onix's massive head and detonated, halting the Rock Snake's upwards momentum and slamming his head back into the ground while the rest of his body was still in the ground.

The detonation had flung Riolu back up but before he could ascend for away from Onix Riolu flung the Aura Sphere in his left palm into the smoke that the detonation of Force Palm had made and once again struck Onix right in the head. There was another screech of massive pain that was abruptly silenced as the harsh 'thud' of stone colliding with stone echoed in the silent Gym.

"Onix!" Brock shouted in concern for his starter.

Riolu landed in front of Ash, looking completely calm. Everyone looked expectantly at the smoke covering Onix. It dispersed a moment later to reveal... the head of Onix sticking out of the ground with swirls for eyes.

"Hell yeah! The first Gym Badge is ours!" Ash cheered. Riolu simply smirked and crossed his arms while Pikachu pumped one of his tiny fists. Misty once again clapped for them in the background, happily grinning for their victory.

Ash's Pokédex, that was in his pocket, started to vibrate. Ash, Knowing what was going on simply allowed the machine to do it's work. The red machine activated with a beep, "Winner of the 3 on 3 battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, Age: 10, and Gym leader Brock of Pewter City, Age: 15, is Ash Ketchum... Calculating winnings...Calculating...done... Ash Ketchum receives 436 Credits." The red machine informed it's owner

Brock sighed and recalled Onix, "Good work." He said to Onix's Pokéball. He looked up, seeing Ash celebrating with Pikachu and Riolu, who was once again on the trainers shoulder. With a small smile Brock walked over to them. Ash stopped cheering as he saw the Gym leader approach him. Brock came to a stop right in front of him, giving Ash a kind look, "Congratulations, Ash. I haven't had a battle like that in forever. Thank you. And for your victory here, I hereby present you with the Boulder Badge." Brock said and handed Ash the Boulder Badge. Ash grinned and pinned the Badge to the inside of his jacket.

"Congratulations Ash!" Misty said.

"Well, Ash. While I'd love to continue talking to you but I have to get my Pokémon looked after at the Pokémon Center." Brock said, sounding a bit sorry.

"That's fine." Ash said with a shrug, "I need to get my Pokémon looked after at the Pokémon Center as well anyway."

Brock smiled, "Then we'll go together. Come on!" He said and walked out of the Gym. Ash and Misty followed him to the Pewter City Pokémon Center.

* * *

Ash, Misty and Brock had just deposited their Pokémon at the counter and where now waiting for nurse Joy to take care of their Pokémon. Ash, Misty and Brock where in the waiting room. Ash and Misty had sat down at the only table in the room, facing each other, and Brock stood to the right with his arms crossed.

All three where silent, not knowing what to talk about. Suddenly, the silence was broken as a new person entered the room, "Well, is the battle already over?" The man who Ash and Misty had met outside of Pewter City said as he entered the room, "Did you lose kid?"

Ash laughed, "Nope, I won."

The man raised an eyebrow, "Really?" The man looked at Brock, who nodded, "Well, there has to be a miracle every blue moon." Ash got a tick mark and Misty giggled.

Brock looked slightly lost, "To be honest, I've wanted to become the greatest Pokémon Breeder. I study about Pokémon. I enjoy raising them more than making them battle. I've wanted to travel to learn more about Pokémon and Breeding, but I have to take care of all my little siblings. Ash, I want you to continue on your journey and fulfill my dream, will you do that for me?"

Ash shook his head, "You shouldn't ask me to fulfil your dream for you Brock. It's yours for a reason."

"But I have to take care of my siblings. I can't leave them..." Brock started, but was cut off.

"Yes you can!" Everyone turned their eyes to the man, "You can go Brock. Go on your journey and make your dream reality. I...will take care of them for you. It's my job and privilege as their father." As the man finished the sentence he took of his cap and yanked of his fake beard, revealing a face that Brock knew all to well.

Brocks jaw dropped, "Dad?!" He said incredulously. Ash and Misty looked shocked.

"Yes son, it's me. I left to become a great Pokémon Trainer, but because I was such a failure I was too ashamed to come back home to my family. I must apologize for leaving you and my wife for so long. I'll take over the Gym and watch over all your brothers and sisters. You go fulfill your own dreams, son."

"First...there's a few things I must tell you." Brock said seriously.

"After all these years I understand you'd want to get some things off your chest. Go ahead." But it wasn't what Flint had in mind. Brock wasn't going to burst out in a fit of rage at his long-lost father, instead, he gave him sowing needles and a big list.

Brock then went on telling him the best way to take care of all his little siblings. Brock, of course, was talking in supersonic speed, making it hard for anyone to understand him. Ash really hoped Brocks dad would be okay.

"Hey Ash, is it alright with you if I go on with you on your Pokémon Journey?" Brock asked, a smile never leaving his face.

"Of course. The more the merrier. It's nice to have some more company." Ash said, smiling at Brock.

* * *

**A/N: And that was chapter ten. I hope you liked it and how I introduced Brock into the story. As you have noticed Brock is quite a bit stronger then he was in the anime but still not nearly as my revamped Ash! **

**Please Review and do whatever the hell you like afterwards!**

**Your dearest,**

**Theblazinghope2235.**


	11. Chapter 11: Cerulean City Mash Up

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

"Speech"

_(PokéSpeech)_

_'Thoughts'_

_"Telepathy" _

Wheww! Here's chapter eleven and boy was it a hard one to write. It really fought me for a while and with the fact that I had to start over when my computer crashed didn't help matters, luckily my muse came back to me this week. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

* * *

The stars high up in the night sky blinked brightly. The gentle breeze that carried cool and crisp air rustled the leaves from trees. A fire burned brightly at the foot of Mount Moon, lighting up the darkness of the night. Around this fire sat several figures, three Humans and a multitude of Pokémon.

Ash sat in front of the fire, resting his behind on a tree stump. He was absently cleaning the pure grey coloured egg in his lap, the one he had gotten from professor Oak. His eyes where vacantly staring into the fire while he was lost in deep thought.

Misty had sat down on her sleeping bag to the side, having a conversation with Brock who was bent over the fire, cooking a late night dinner.

A little ways away from the Humans and the fire sat their Pokémon. Riolu, Pikachu and Pidgeotto had taken their spots high up in a tree. Below them on the ground Brock's Rhydon laid against the trunk of the tree, just lazing a bit. Brock's Geodude and Onix where quietly talking to one another. Onix's face was close by the fire, having curled his long stony body around the gangs camping site. Misty's Staryu and Starmie where laying in the grass, just gazing up at the stars while Misty's Gyarados had fallen asleep, having curled up his huge body just like Onix.

"So, tell me Brock." Misty said, "Why do you want to become a Pokémon breeder?"

Brock paused in the stirring of his stew and was in deep thought for a couple of seconds, "Well, it's rather boring story."

Misty snorted, "We don't have anything else to talk about."

Brock sighed, "Fine, I'll tell you but first allow me to finish our food. I'll tell you over dinner."

Misty nodded and allowed Brock to continue working on their late night dinner.

Meanwhile, Ash had finished cleaning the egg and had placed it back into his backpack. He looked around before his eyes focused on his Pokémon. Ash's eyes narrowed as he concentrated his Aura, listening deeply to the quiet conversation his Pokémon where having.

"Pi Pikachu. _(You know, now that we've left on our journey everything seems to be a lot more hectic)_." Pikachu said, sounding thoughtful.

Riolu snorted, _"That's the understatement of the century. Ever since we've set off we have fought an out of control Gyarados, dealt with those Team Rocket Weirdos on two separate occasions, and had to fend of a pissed off swarm of Beedrill's. And that's not even mentioning our first Gym match and all the battles in between we've had."_

Pidgeotto giggled, "Geo Pidgeotto. _(It has certainly been exciting ever since we've set off)_," She commented, before laughing, "Geo. _(It's probably all Ash's fault. He attracts trouble like a Venomoth to flame)_.

Below them, Rhydon snorted, "Rhy. _(It's never boring around you guys is it)_?" He mused, an amused glint in his eyes.

_"You don't say. What gave it away? Was it what I said or the exasperated tone of voice I used_?_"_ Riolu rolled his eyes. Rhydon growled. Pikachu and Pidgeotto laughed.

Rhydon looked up, a deep glare on his face, "Rhy. _(You're an ass you know that)_?"

Riolu laughed, _"I know. My trainer says that all the time!" _He said, amusement lacing his voice. Rhydon facepalmed. Pikachu and Pidgeotto laughed again. Ash snickered as he listened in on the conversation.

"Rhy Rhydon. _(Why do I feel that traveling with you guys is going to be the biggest mistake of my life)_?" Rhydon muttered, not removing has palm from his forehead.

Pidgeotto shook her head, her sharp eyes shining in amusement, "Pidgeotto Geo. _(It wasn't your choice to begin with, remember? Your trainer decided he wanted to travel with our trainer the moment he got the chance)_."

Rhydon shook his head in pity, "Rhy. _(And I fear it's going to be the death of him)_."

All four Pokémon suddenly fell silent, before all four bursted out laughing. Ash smiled at the sight of the Pokémon bonding.

Ash hadn't been reading their thoughts, and yet, he had been able to understand everything they had been saying. It was a skill he had been working on for quite a while now. As an Aura user he could read and link minds and as such could mentally converse with anyone, Human or Pokémon. But he couldn't understand PokéSpeech, or at least, that's what he had believed.

He had noticed about half a year ago that he sometimes could make out words out of the PokéSpeech of his Pokémon. That had gotten him thinking, and he had started trying to understand the natural speech of his Pokémon. At first, he couldn't understand any of it, except for the occasional word, but after a lot of time and a lot of perseverance he had started to make out more words out of his Pokémons PokéSpeech. He could now fully understand the PokéSpeech of any Pokémon, he just needed to learn how to do it without having to consciously focusing his Aura and then he would consider the unique skill mastered.

Ash's thoughts where broken when Brock called, "Dinners ready!"

The young aspiring Pokémon Master stood up and made his way over to Brock, who was heaping the stew on a plate and handed it to Ash. The boy took it gratefully and thanked Brock before making his way back to his resting spot. Misty and Brock picked their own part of the stew and took their places around the fire and started eating.

The moment Misty and Ash took their first bite of the stew they froze. Brock, who had been eating calmly, noticed this and frowned, "Is something wrong with the stew?"

Both Ash and Misty looked at Brock, their faces not giving anything away, before they both started smiling widely and dug into their food with sudden ravenous hunger, "Are you kidding me! This is great! You should think about becoming a cook, Brock!" Both ten-year olds said at the same time, their words spoken in perfect synchronization.

Brock smiled at the compliment and started eating his own part of the stew. While they ate the teens conversed among each other, eventually leading back to the Misty's earlier question.

"Now, tell us Brock, why did you want to become a Pokémon breeder?" Misty repeated her earlier question between taking bites out of her food.

Brock put down his plate and thought about the answer to Misty's question, "Well, as you can imagine I've always been interested in Pokémon, but not in the way that most people are. I'm not all that interested in battling but the raising and caring of Pokémon has always pulled at me. It's just...the moment I discovered what it meant to be a Pokémon breeder it just instantly became my goal. I can't explain it. It's just who I want to be."

Ash smiled at the older teen, "That's actually about the same reason why I wanted to become a Pokémon Master since childhood."

Misty giggled, "The same for me. I've always dreamed to one day be a Master Water Pokémon trainer."

Brock gave a short laugh, "We have more in common that I had originally thought." Brock commented, his words baked with camaraderie.

The moment was shattered when Riolu suddenly landed on Ash's head, _"Awww, Our trainers are bonding! How cute!" _Riolu's mental voice echoed in all their heads.

Brock shook his head, "I'm never going to get used to that." He muttered, Riolu's flamboyant nature and his Aura abilities still continued to amaze and shock him. The fact that Ash could do the same had shocked him even more, but then again, Brock knew that Ash was special the moment Ash had stepped into his Gym and had challenged him.

"Riolu!" Ash put his plate aside and reached up to grab Riolu, "What was that for?" Ash said now that he had yanked down the grinning Riolu and held the Emanation Pokémon in front of him.

Riolu grinned, _"You where just being to cute to leave alone! And it's fun to tease you!"_ Was Riolu's unhelpful cheery answer.

Ash's eyebrow twitched. He heard the quiet snickering of their Pokémon behind his back. Brock and Misty where also radiating amusement, "I've said it before and I'll say it again. Riolu, you're an ass."

Riolu snickered, _"From you I'll take that remark as a complement."_ With a heave Riolu freed himself from Ash's hands and bolted back to his friends.

Brock chuckled, "He's quite the handful isn't he?"

"You've got no idea." Ash growled, his annoyance shining through.

Misty laughed, "And still you can't imagine a life without that annoying little jackal. You and Riolu are the very epitome of a love and hate relationship."

Ash groaned at the highly annoying, yet dead accurate description of his relationship with his starter. Oh, how he wished he had been more strict with Riolu at the very beginning. But, to little to late, Riolu would be an annoying little shit untill the day he died.

It really irked him, but for some reason that he couldn't discern, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Brock smiled, "You and Riolu make for quite the pair, Ash. It's never boring around you two."

Ash snorted, "I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing."

Misty giggled, "Probably a bit of both."

The rest of the night progressed in the same manner. In friendly camaraderie, with jokes, high spirit's and the tightening of friendships among the Humans and their Pokémon.

* * *

The next day the gang was up bright and early. They had cleaned up their camping spot and had eaten breakfast before setting out for Mount Moon.

"So, Brock." Ash began, "What's the shortest route to Cerulean City?"

Brock, who was walking besides the young trainer, had his head buried in the map that he held in his hands, "The shortest route would be through the tunnel systems in Mt Moon. We could take the long way around and go around Mt Moon, but that would be a week-long journey, while if we head straight through Mt Moon it would take us a day or two at most."

Misty shook her head, "We're not in a hurry are we? I say we go the long way around. I hate those nasty Zubat's that make their home in the tunnels. They never leave you in peace when you try to traverse their home."

Brock nodded, "True. Zubat's are famous for being nasty little buggers at times. What say you, Ash?"

Ash pondered the question at for a moment, before deferring to his Pokémon's opinion, _"What do you guys think?"_ He asked Pikachu and Riolu, who were as usual riding on his shoulders, through his Aura.

Riolu shrugged, _"I'd say we go through Mt Moon. It would be a shorter journey and Pikachu can keep those part Flying-Types away with a couple of well placed shocks."_

Pikachu grinned, "Pika. _(I agree. Those Zubat's won't annoy us through our journey. Just leave it up to me)_."

Ash nodded at their reasoning before answering Brock's question, "I would rather go through Mt Moon directly actually. The journey would be shorter and Pikachu can keep the Zubat's away."

Misty and Brock looked at each other, a silent question in their eyes, before both nodded to each other in agreement, "All right then, through Mt Moon it is." Brock announced as he stuffed his map back into his backpack.

"Hey," Ash spook up suddenly, "Why do they call it Mt Moon anyway?"

It was Brock who answered, "Well, Ash. Mt Moon is rather famous for it's rich and abundant stores of Moon Stones. Special stones that can cause certain types of Pokémon to evolve. Hence the name: Mt Moon," Brock clarified, before continuing on with his explanation, "Long ago, in prehistoric times a meteor, one huge Moon Stone, crashed into the general location of Mt Moon and showered the region with Moon Stones, small fragments of the original meteor. All though, it's believed that a big chunk of the original Moon Stone survived the impact intact. Explorers, scientists and treasure hunters have been looking for it for ages."

Ash nodded, while Misty looked intrigued, because she hadn't known that.

It didn't take the gang long to reach the entrance of the tunnel leading into Mount Moon, where they stumbled onto an unusual sight.

"HHHEEELLLPPP!" A man came screaming out of the tunnel entrance, being chased by an angry group of Zubat's who were trying to bite the man's skin off.

Pikachu acted without being told to, already knowing what Ash would want him to do in this situation, jumped up high into the air as his cheeks sparked with electricity. A second later he blasted the angry swarm of Zubat's with the golden lightning of his ThunderBolt. The Zubat's screeched in pain and immediately fled back into the tunnel from where they had come from. The few that hadn't been hit followed their example and fled as well. Except for one Zubat that had bared the brunt of the lightning bolt and had collapsed to the ground. Brock, seeing that ash wasn't interested in catching the Zubat himself caught it for himself.

The moment Pikachu landed back on his spot on Ash's shoulder the man that they had saved was in Ash's face and grasped his hand tightly as he shook it wildly, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You won't believe how long I have been trying to get away from those Zubat's!"

Riolu chuckled, _"That's the third person we have saved within a weeks time, Ash. To bad that only one of them was a damsel in distress."_

Ash sweatdropped at Riolu's comment before turning his attention to the man they had saved, absently noting that he was garbed in clothing that scientists and explorers wear when they are out in the field, "It was no problem. You should be thanking Pikachu actually."

The scientist and/or explorer smiled at them and released his hand, "I'm still grateful to you, and especially your Pikachu." The man made a small fancy bow to them, "I'm Seamore and I'm pleased to meet you. What're your names?" Seamore asked the group.

Ash raised an eyebrow at the man's formal way of greeting, but nonetheless smiled at Seamore and introduced himself, "I'm Ash and these two are Riolu and Pikachu." He said, pointing one by one at the Pokémon sitting on his shoulders.

"And I'm Brock." The former Gym leader introduced himself.

"And I'm Misty." The aspiring Master Water Pokémon trainer introduced herself as well.

"A pleasure." Seamore said, making another small bow to them, "If you don't find it rude of me asking but why have you come here?"

Ash shrugged, "Going through Mt Moon is the shortest way to Cerulean City."

Seamore nodded, "I see, but..." Seamore frowned, "Something's horribly wrong here."

Ash felt as if a ball of ice had suddenly settled into his gut at hearing those words, "What's wrong?"

Seamore looked at them, a dire expression on his face, "Come with me and I'll show you."

The group looked at each other, and after a moment they nodded in acceptance. Seamore smiled and beckoned for them to follow him as he made his way back to the tunnel. As the group walked into the tunnel, Ash and the rest where expecting for it to get darker, but to their surprise the lighting in the tunnel remained bright, thanks to the lamps bolted to the tunnel wall.

"I didn't know that Mt Moon had been outfitted with lamps. I wonder when the League had this done..." Misty commented.

"The League didn't do this." Seamore said, an edge to his voice, "The League would never condone this! This is downright criminal and barbaric!"

Everyone looked shocked at the angry shout of the good mannered man, but suddenly, it became clear to Brock what was wrong. Brock gasped as the gravity of the situation became clear to him, "Oh, no! The Pokémon living in these tunnels and caves can't stand the light! That's why those Zubat's attacked Seamore! The bright lights must have upset them, making them attack everything on sight!"

Ash's eyes flew wide, "We need to do something!" He said urgently.

Misty nodded, "We need to take down all the lamps!"

Seamore shook his head, "It won't be as easy as simply removing the lamps in the tunnels. They have been placed nearly everywhere in Mount Moon. It would take us days to remove them all. And what's stopping the people who placed these lamps here to simply replace the ones we took down? No, we need to get to the bodem of the matter and deal with the people who did this."

Everyone nodded at Seamore's words, knowing them to be true. Brock pondered this for a moment, "Seamore, do you know who did this?"

Seamore sighed, "Nope. I've been studying Mt Moon and the Moon Stone for quite a while now but I had been away for a couple of days, getting supplies in Pewter City and taking a short break from my studies. I came back this morning, and the first thing I see was this horrible situation. Then I was attacked by those Zubat's and the rest you know."

"Well, How are we going to find the people who did this?" Misty asked the critical question.

"Well." Seamore began, "It would be safe to assume that the people who did this came here for the only valuable things that can be found in Mt Moon. The Moon Stone and the rare Pokémon that make their home here: Clefairy and Clefable. Since we don't know where the original Moon Stone resides our best bet would be finding a Clefairy or Clefable and follow it and hope that the troublemakers who did this show up to steal it." Seamore thought up a plan quickly, "I know these caves and tunnels like the back of my hand and I know where large groups of Clefairy's and Clefable's reside. I'll take us to them."

Ash nodded, "It's a good plan. Lead the way Seamore."

Seamore nodded back at him and started tracking down the tunnel. The rest followed him while Ash picked up the pace until he was walking besides the scientist. Ash was about to ask the scientist something, but the words died in his mouth as he saw hom much the man-made lights where affecting the Pokémon that made their homes in the tunnels. Paras's were planting their mushrooms everywhere. The hot lights were drying the Sandshrew up. Even the Geodude's and the Zubat's were Tackling the walls in a delirious fashion.

Ash forced his mouth to work as he tried to block out the horrible scene. He could feel through his Aura that his friends weren't dealing with the situation any better than he did. Not even mentioning the fact that he could _feel _how the Pokémon in the caves where suffering. It was horrible

"Tell me Samuel, why do you study the Moon Stone anyway? Don't we know everything about it already? It has been studied a lot in the past." The young trainer asked, more the keep his mind busy and distracted than anything else.

Seamore smiled brightly as the young man who had saved him asked him questions about his interests, "Well, while it's true that Moon Stones and the evolution process they cause have been studied intensely but those studies haven't yielded much. We still don't know what the Moon Stone does that make certain species of pokémon evolve or what makes these Pokémon species different from others so that they have to evolve by getting into contact with a certain type of stone. And don't forget, the original Moon Stone has never been studied, only it's fragments have been found." Samuel's smile stretched even further over his face, "That's what I'm aiming to uncover here and to prove my own private theory to the origins of Pokémon."

Ash had to ask, while the rest listened with interest to their conversation, "And what's your theory, if you don't mind me asking?"

"The Moon Stones originated from this place. Don't you see? When I was a child, I always believed Pokémon came from outer space. They travelled here to Earth with the Moon Stones. I still believe that, even to this day." Seamore said, a glint in his eyes.

Ash's eyebrow rose, "That's an interesting theory, if a little bit far-fetched in my opinion." Ash mused.

Seamore smiled a sad smile, ignoring the incredulous looks he was getting from Brock and Misty, "Most people think I'm a tad crazy because I believe in such an outlandish theory but I stand by my believes, and one day, I will prove them to the world."

Ash smiled at the convicted in the man's words, "_He's got spirit. I'll give him that."_ Riolu whispered into his mind. Pikachu nodded in agreement.

Then suddenly, their mental conversation was disturbed when a Clefairy came skipping by, a Moon Stone clasped in it's tiny hands.

"Seems the Clefairy found us." Ash muttered, "Let's follow it!"

The group quickly bolted after it, following the small pink Pokémon around a bend in the tunnel system. Suddenly, the Clefairy cried out it's name in panic, spurring the group to run faster. As they came around the bend and into a small chamber they found out what had scared Clefairy so.

A Meowth was stalking up to Clefairy, who was backed up against the tunnel wall. The fact that this Meowth was walking on two legs and the cruel expression on his face gave away who this Meowth was.

_'That's Team Rocket's Meowth! They must be the ones that have placed all these lamps all over Mt Moon!'_ Ash thought, and then acted quickly, "Riolu! Defend Clefairy with Aura Sphere!"

Riolu cupped his palms and quickly charged his most powerful attack. The moment Riolu had finished charging the azure coloured sphere Meowth turned to look into the direction he had heard Ash's voice, "Who's ther-" Only to receive an Aura Sphere to the stomach. The resulting explosion carried him into a wall and did him a lot of pain.

"Come here Clefairy! We'll protect you!" Misty called out to the frightened Pokémon. Clefairy couldn't get behind them fast enough, hiding behind the gangs legs.

Meowth had stood back up, a pained expression on his face, "What're you Twerps doing here! Our next attempt at stealing your Pokémon was due next week!"

"Did that Meowth just talk!" Both Brock and Seamore exclaimed in shock at the same time.

"Yes it did and I'll explain later who he his and who he's with, but first we've got to deal with them, before they cause even more trouble." Ash said quickly.

Misty frowned, "Why are you here? We don't need anymore trouble from you weirdos!"

Meowth's eyebrow twitched, "Stop calling us weirdos Twerp!"

Any rebuttal from Misty got cut of by a shout, "Did someone here say trouble? Then make it double!" Jessie said as she and James suddenly appeared behind Meowth, both smirking.

James continued, "To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unity all people's withi-" Jessie was saying only to be interrupted.

"Oh for Arceus sake! Just tell us what the hell you're trying to do here and get lost!" Ash hollered at them, an annoyed expression on his face.

Team Rocket exploded in rage, "Don't you _dare_ interrupt the motto!" James screamed angrily.

"The motto's sacred, so shut up and let us finish!" Jessie screeched angrily.

"I don't give a crap for your so called motto! As a matter of fact! Let's just set you flying again like the last two times! Pikachu! Use ThunderBolt!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked with electricity before he launched the golden arc of lightning at the villanous team.

Team Rocket yelped at the sudden attack and quickly scattered in all directions, successfully evading the attack, "You Twerp! Fighting dirty and without constrained is supposed to be our style! Not yours!" Meowth screamed angrily.

Brock cocked his head, an uncertain expression on his face, "Am I missing something here? I'm getting the feeling you know these weirdos, Ash."

Team Rocket's scream of, "We aren't weirdos!" Went unheard in the background.

Ash shrugged, "I've met them two times before and they have tried on both occasions to steal my and other people's Pokémon." Ash smirked, "And I sent them packing both times."

Brock nodded. That was all he needed to know. He grabbed a Pokéball, "Rhydon! I need your help!" Within a blaze of white light the Drill Pokémon appeared, roaring in battle lust as his horn spinned frantically.

Team Rocket gasped in fright as the big and menacing Pokémon appeared and glared at them. Brock didn't dawdle, "Rhydon! Stone Edge! Sent those Pokémon thieves running!" Rhydon complied and quickly materialized the sharp stone daggers and launched them at the Team Rocket members.

James acted immediately as his instincts took over, "Koffing, use Gyro Ball to protect us!" He commanded as he hurled Koffing's Pokéball into the air. In a white flash of light the Poison Gas Pokémon appeared and was immediately surrounded by a blue glow as he used Gyro Ball. Koffing cried out his name as he zipped around the room, spinning frantically as he used his own body as a shield to protect his masters against the stone daggers of Stone Edge, which pulverized against his rapidly spinning body.

Jessie followed immediately, "Ekans! Come on out and use Poison Sting!" She hurled a Pokéball forwards which opened up to reveal the Snake Pokémon. Ekans opened his maw and fired the hail of bright purple needles at Rhydon.

Ash didn't allow the attack to even come halfway, "Riolu! Use rapid fire Aura Sphere! Don't let up until Ekans is out of the fight!" Riolu cupped his palms and threw them forwards as he started firing Aura Sphere's like a machine gun. The Aura Sphere's connected with the Poison Needles and destroyed them with ease. The Aura Sphere's continued on and struck Ekans, who cried out in pain as he was sent flying into a wall. Riolu didn't let up and continued firing, keeping Ekans pinned to the wall as the damage from the Aura Sphere's stacked up.

"Ekans!" Jessie cried out in alarm.

Riolu let up on his attacks a moment later. The dust over Ekans form settled to reveal a heavily bruised knocked out cold Ekans. Jessie returned the Snake Pokémon, a sad look in her eyes.

James continued on in spite of the fact that Jessie was out of the fight, "Koffing! Use Clear Smog!" Koffing blotted obscenely before he opened his mouth and belched out a highly pressurized stream of highly toxic white smoke at Rhydon.

"Use Sandstorm to protect yourself!" Rhydon reared back his arm, a multicolored shine to it, and punched the ground. The action quickly whipped up a sandstorm, that enveloped his immediate surroundings. The Clear Smog impacted with the Sandstorm attack but was unable to penetrate the cloud of roaring sand stone particles, "And now use Stone Edge!" The sharp stone daggers of Stone Edge suddenly appeared from the all consuming cloud of sand stone particles and struck the surprised Koffing hard in the face, sending Koffing flying straight back.

James looked up and was about to give a command, "Koffing! Use Cle-" Only for Koffing to ram into his head. James went out like a light and fell to the ground, completely unconscious.

"James!" Both Jessie and Meowth cried out in shock. Both Human and Pokémon rushed for their downed companion, to see if he was all right. Koffing looked enraged at Rhydon, furious at himself and at his opponent because he had accidentally hurt his trainer.

In his anger Koffing fired an overpowered Clear Smog, that was at least three times as big as the previous one, at the now once again visible Rhydon.

"Stone Edge!" Rhydon roared and materialized the stone daggers once again and fired them in rapid succession at the incoming Clear Smog attack. To his and Brock's surprise, the Clear Smog pulverized the incoming stone daggers with ease and continued on at Rhydon who had no more time left to dodge.

Luckily for Rhydon and Brock, Ash and Pikachu came to their aid, "Pikachu! Use Thunder!" Pikachu screamed his name as he fired the Thunder attack. Pikachu arced the huge golden coloured lightning bolt at the incoming Clear Smog and crashed powerfully with it, creating a shockwave that cratered the floor and sent rock flying in all directions.

With a scream, Pikachu poured even more power into his Thunder attack and started to push back Koffing's Clear Smog attack. With one final scream Pikachu overpowered Koffing's Clear Smog, breaking through the attack, and continued on to strike Koffing, and because the rest of Team Rocket was close by, the attack engulfed them two.

Team Rocket screamed in pain, except for James who was unconscious, as the Thunder attack fried their bodies. Suddenly, in a rerun of what had happened at the Viridian City Pokémon Center, Koffing lost control and used Smog, which detonated the immediate surroundings around Team Rocket.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Meowth cried.

"You may have won this round, but we'll be back!" Jessie screamed out her promise.

Team Rocket screamed, except for James of course, as they were shot down the tunnel, screaming all the way, until they reached the tunnel entrance and went flying of in the distance.

Misty sighed, "That takes care of those weirdos, again." She sweatdropped, "That's the third time we've met those idiots in a weeks time. Something tells me we'll run into them again soon enough."

Brock sweatdropped, "You two have got to tell me what kind of things you got into before I decided to travel with you guys."

The Clefairy that they had protected tugged at Ash's pants leg. Ash looked down to see Clefairy pointing down the tunnel, "Fairy Clefairy. (Come with me. I want to show you something)." Clefairy said with a female voice.

"What's Clefairy saying?" Seamore asked.

"I think Clefairy wants to show us something." Ash said. It wasn't a guess. He had concentrated his Aura just before Clefairy had started speaking, allowing him to _understand_ every word of Clefairy's PokéSpeech.

Clefairy nodded and eagerly skipped down the length of the tunnel, the Moon Stone still idly clasped in it's stubby hands. Ash and the gang, including Seamore, followed the Fairy Pokémon.

The Clefairy led them back outside, back to where they had first entered the tunnel and took of into the woods. They idly noted that they had been inside longer then they had thought, as it was already dark and the full moon shone overhead. The group continued to follow Clefairy, who eventually led them to an old huge worn out stone wall.

Clefairy smiled and stepped through a hole in the wall, that was only just big enough for Ash and his friends to fit through. Once all of them where on the other side, they saw something incredible that took their breath away, and in Seamore's case, nearly caused his heart to fail in shock and awe.

They where in one large doomed room, which was lighted up by the moon light that shone down from the opening in the rove, with a raised pedestal at the very center of the barren room, a pedestal that could hold over a hundred people if they squeezed in real tightly, but was instead occupied by one huge white rock: The Moon Stone. The one that Seamore believed had brought the Pokémon to Earth.

"This feels like a dream," Misty commented in awe as she gazed at the sparkling Moon Stone in the center of the room.

"So the Moon Stone legend is true," Brock said, looking closely at the Moon Stone of legends.

Ash noticed something, "Look, Clefairy is doing something," the group watched closely as Clefairy skipped forwards and placed the shard of the Moon Stone that Clefairy had been lugging around all the time at the base of the massive original Moon Stone. Ash and the rest noticed that small Moon Stone shards were placed all around the original Moon Stone and that the final one that Clefairy had just placed completed the circle.

Suddenly the Moon Stone shards and the original Moon Stone started glowing a solid blue, and a mass of Clefairy's, dozens of them, entered the room through cracks in the rock walls and made for the Moon Stone.

"There are so many of them," Misty said in awe.

Riolu blinked, _"What're they doing?"_ He questioned as he gazed at the Clefairy.

The group once again focused the attention on the Clefiary and saw a curious sight. The Clefiary were dancing and skipping around the glowing Moon Stone, which was lighted up by the moonlight that lit up the room. The Clefairy where chanting their name in a unique rhythm. The scene oddly reminded the group of a ceremony, as if the Clefiary where worshipping the Moon Stone.

"This is incredible," Seamore said in awe, "The Clefairy have to be extremely intelligent to have their own religion."

Brock frowned, "But what is the purpose for this ceremony..."

Just as Brock asked his question he got his answer. The glow of the Moon Stone and the tiny Moon Stone shards suddenly tripled in brightness, almost blinding the group. The Moon Stone shards started floating, an invisible power lifting them up before the same power started guiding the Moon Stone shards to several Clefairy's who had stopped dancing. Multiple Clefairy's were touched by the Moon Stone shards, which caused the Clefairy's to start glowing a bright white as the Moon Stone shards made the selected Clefairy's evolve.

"Oh, wow," Ash whispered as he witnessed the act of evolution once again, only this time on mass as a dozen Clefairy's evolved into Clefable. The group behind him was just as much transfixed by the sight as he was.

The Clefairy's grew bigger, the wings on their backs enlarged and their ears elongated. As the glow of evolution faded the newly evolved Clefable's became visible once again.

Now the voices of freshly evolved Clefable's echoed in the chamber, who were now once again dancing and chanting together with the remaining Clefairy's.

Seamore couldn't take his eyes of the Clefable and Clefairy, "I'm staying here." He said, "It's has been my lives dream to find the Moon Stone and prove my own believes. Now that I've found it I can't leave it. This now my new home."

Ash smiled, "You do what you want to do Seamore. It's your life."

The grin on Seamore's face was even brighter than the previous glow of the Moon Stone.

* * *

Ash and his friends had spent the rest of the night taking down all the lamps in the tunnels with the help of Seamore and the Clefairy and Clefable, which turned a task that should have taken a couple of days of work to an hour-long job. Luckily they had managed to finish it fast enough that they could still catch a good night's sleep.

They had woken op early the next day and after saying goodbye to Seamore and his new Clefairy and Clefable friends had immediately set out, traversing through Mount Moon in record time and making it out of the tunnel system and emerging at the other end of Mount Moon before mid day.

"Ah, sunshine. How I missed you!" Misty said as she looked up to the sky, reveling at once again feeling the sun's ray's on her skin.

Brock snorted, "You're really laying it on thick now." He said. Misty glared at him.

Pikachu, who was as always on Ash's shoulder, laughed quietly, "Pikapi Pika. _(And here comes the argument of the hour)_." Pikachu meant what he said, Brock and Misty argued so much that you could set your clock to them.

"Some people like being outside Brock. Not like a recluse like you can understand that." Misty said while the group continued on walking down the road.

Brock smirked, "Oh, I like being outside, Misty, particularly when it is a bright and sunny day so that I can fully appreciate beautiful woman wearing skimpy clothing..."

SWISH-TWACK.

Brock rubbed the back of his head as he nursed the sudden lump that had formed their thanks to a swift and sudden blow by Misty's mallet that she had suddenly taken out of...somewhere.

"You pervert! Don't you have no shame!" Misty screeched, a deep blush on her face.

"Don't worry! I obviously wasn't talking about you." Brock countered, and immediately regretted it.

SWISH-TWACK.

Once again Brock grasped his head as Misty once again struck him with her mallet. Misty had an enraged expression her face. Brock cowered at the sight of a pissed off Misty.

Ash facepalmed at their antics. Riolu chuckled, _"It's certainly going to be interesting traveling with these two."_

"Interesting does not mean good, Riolu." Ash muttered back, _'I need something that'll distract them from this stupid argument.' _He thought. Then he saw it, the perfect thing to distract his friends from their stupid argument. It just stood their, just at where the dirt road they where traveling down forked. It was a...

"Hey look, a sign." Ash said loudly, gaining Brock's and Misty's attention.

Ash read the sign out loud, "This way to Cerulean City." A big red arrow pointed to the road on the right, "Awesome, this must mean that Cerulean City and the next Gym match isn't that far away anymore."

Brock noticed something, "Hey, someone has written something here." Brock read it out loud, "'Gary was here, Ash is a loser.'"

Ash's eyebrow twitched while Riolu and Pikachu started laughing their asses of, "That bastard!"

"I assume you know this Gary, Ash?" Misty asked.

Ash nodded, "Yeah, I grew up with him. He's actually the grandson of professor Oak and my long time friend and rival."

Brock looked dubiously at him, "And your okay with your friend writing this about you?"

Ash sighed, "Meh, he's not trying to be mean, he's just trying to rile me up. Trust me, this is typical Gary humour."

Misty sweatdropped, "Then your friend has a weird taste in humour."

Ash shrugged and started walking down the road to Cerulean City. Misty and Brock quickly followed him.

Misty frowned unnoticed. She didn't want to go back to Cerulean City because of personal reasons, but she supposed a quick visit wouldn't cause problems, she just had to think up an excuse and miss Ash's Gym match. That was all, simple enough.

While Misty had thought nobody had noticed that she wasn't very happy about going to Cerulean City she would be dead wrong. Both Ash and Riolu had felt her emotions at the mention of Cerulean City thanks to their Aura abilities. Both trainer and Pokémon shared a glance before silently deciding to keep quiet about it. It wasn't their place to start asking Misty about her personal problems after all.

And so, the group silently continued on down the dirt path, getting ever closer to Cerulean City.

* * *

"Ah, there it is, Cerulean City!"

Ash, who had as usual Riolu and Pikachu on his shoulders, Brock and Misty stood on a bluff overlooking the whole of Cerulean City. It was beautiful looking city that was situated right next to the sea and had a lot of greenery in between it's generally low and far apart built buildings.

Ash angled his head forwards and took a deep look at the city and grinned when he spotted the bright red rove of the Pokémon Center at the edge of the city and the brightly coloured doomed rove of the Cerulean City Gym in the distance. Perfect!

"So," Brock began, "Will we first go to the Pokémon Center or do you immediately want to hit the Cerulean City Gym, Ash?"

Feeling Misty's sudden alarm and because of the fact that his Pokémon needed a check up anyway Ash decision was simple, "Let's go to the Pokémon Center first. My Pokémon need a check up first before a Gym match." Misty let out a nearly unnoticeable sigh of relieve.

Brock nodded, "Good choice. Cerulean City Pokémon Center it is."

The group started walking down the bluff and quickly reached the outskirts of Cerulean City. Once they were inside the city's bounds they were surprised to find that the city looked abandoned, there was no sound and there was not one person out on the streets.

"Where is everyone?" Ash questioned as the group made a beeline for the Pokémon Center.

Brock shrugged, "No clue. Maybe there's some kind of event here in Cerulean City where all the inhabitants have flocked to." He guessed

Misty bit her lip, "I think we would know if there was anything big going on in Cerulean City, Brock. With the Gym and all it would be pretty obvious everyone would want to know if there are any days that you can't challenge the Gym leader." She said, while secretly thinking, _'Or the day you can't challenge the Gym _leaders_ of Cerulean City.'_

It didn't take the group long to get to the Pokémon Center. Once they entered they where immediately struck by the fact that the Pokémon Center was just as quiet as the city. It was completely empty except for a Chansey and a Nurse Joy that stood behind the counter.

The Nurse Joy looked up, startled at hearing the group enter her Pokémon Center. She smiled as Ash and the rest came up to the counter, "Hello, how may I help you today." She said kindly.

"Hello Nurse Joy. I'm Ash Ketchum and I wanted to ask you if you could you give my Pokémon a ch-" Ash was saying, only to be interrupted by Brock.

"Uhm, miss. I was wondering, since I am new in town maybe we could get together tonight and you could show me around..." Brock said, a cheshire grin on his face as he leaned over the counter, "I would be honored to take at such a beautiful woman like yourse-ACK." Misty jabbed Brock in the side and then proceeded to drag him away by the ear. Misty had a murderous expression on her face.

"You really don't have any shame do you! Trying to ask out a woman you have only just met!" Misty growled as she yanked the now almost crying Brock away by the ear. Ash and Nurse Joy sweatdropped. Pikachu and Riolu snickered.

_"That was priceless."_ Riolu whispered into Pikachu's mind, who nodded in agreement.

Ash scratched the back of his head, an awkward smile on his face, "Sorry about that. Brock is a bit eccentric..."

"It's all right." Joy said, still smiling, "In my line of work I have met my fair share of strange and eccentric people. Now, how may I help you."

Ash blinked as a question came to him, "I'm curious but do you know why the city looks so abandoned?"

Nurse Joy raised and eyebrow before answering, "Your obviously not very familiar in Cerulean City. The Three Sensational Sisters are holding a water show in the Cerulean City Gym which always draws huge crowds and in addition to that a lot of people have gone to check out that place on main street that was robbed last night."

Ash was surprised at hearing that and had to ask, "Who are the Three Sensational Sister and what was stolen?"

"The Three Sensational Sister are the Gym leaders of the Cerulean City Gym and they are immensely popular for their good looks and their incredible water shows. As for what was stolen, it's strange but they didn't steal any money, just a massive vacuum and a giant hose." Joy answered before shaking her head, "But I don't think you came here just to ask me questions. Are any of your Pokémon injured?"

"Oh, I just wanted you to give my Pokémon a check up." Ash said as he took out Pidgeotto's Pokéball and placed it on the counter. Riolu and Pikachu jumped from his shoulders and landed on the counter.

Nurse Joy nodded and smiled, "Sure young man." She took Pidgeotto's Pokéball, "Follow me." Joy said to Riolu and Pikachu who dutifully followed the nurse as they headed for the back of the Pokémon Center for their check up.

Ash sighed and followed after Brock and Misty. They had taken a seat in the waiting area. Misty was contentedly lounging back into her seat and Brock was nursing his bright red ear.

Ash took a seat besides Brock and gave him an amused look, "Learned your lesson?"

"I hope so." Brock muttered, still nursing his ear. Brock sighed as the pain became lesser and asked, "So, Ash, I'm assuming that you'll immediately set out to challenge the Gym when you get your Pokémon back?" Ash nodded, "Well, I won't be able to come. I've gut stuff to do in the city."

Ash cocked his brow, "What kind of stuff?"

"Just stuff." Brock evaded answering the question. Ash stopped questioning him, respecting Brock's privacy.

"I can't come either, Ash." Misty suddenly said, "I also have something to do in the city."

Ash frowned but nodded, "It's all right. I'll just go kick the Gym leaders asses and then I'll come back here to meet up with you guys. Okay?" Brock and Misty nodded their consent.

Just then the loudspeaker activated and Nurse Joy's voice was heard throughout the Pokémon Center, "Trainer Ash Ketchum. Please come to the counter to pick up your Pokémon."

Ash stood up and went to the counter where a smiling Nurse Joy was waiting with Riolu and Pikachu on the counter and Pidgeotto's Pokéball in her hand, "Here you go young man. Your Pokémon are in tip-top shape and completely healthy." She said as she handed him Pidgeotto's Pokéball and Riolu and Pikachu jumped to their spots on his shoulder.

"Thanks Nurse Joy." Ash said gratefully and turned to leave. Misty glared at Brock, making sure that he wouldn't try to ask Joy out again. Brock sighed in dismay and followed Ash and Misty outside. Once they where outside the trio said their goodbye's to each other and split up. Brock and Misty took their own paths into the City and Ash started walking to the Cerulean City Gym.

When he arrived Ash, Riolu and Pikachu where treated to the sight of a massive crowd of people leaving the colorfully painted Gym, _'They must have just finished their show. Perfect timing.'_ Ash thought and made a beeline for the entrance of the Gym, navigating through the massive crowd of people swiftly and entering the colourful building.

Ash quickly found himself in the pool area of the Gym, where the 'Three Sensational Sisters' where currently relaxing after their show. As he walked closer to them he could hear their conversation.

"Today's performance was the best ever."

"Yeah, the crowd went wild when they watched it today."

"Well, practice makes perfect, after all."

"Hey, excuse me." Ash said, getting their attention.

"Oh? Sorry, but if you want an interview you'll have to talk with our manager." said the blue-haired one.

"That's not it."

"We don't do autographs either." the pink-haired one said.

"I don't want one."

"Then what _do_ you want?" The blond-haired one said as she crossed her arms.

"A Gym battle." Ash answered.

The sisters looked momentarily surprised before looking sheepish, "We're sorry." The blond one said, "But we don't feel like battling much anymore."

"What!?" Ash said, shocked, "Why don't you!?" Gym leaders turning down a challenge to a Pokémon battle. What The Hell! _'Are they even allowed to do that?'_

_"Apparently they can." _Riolu said in his mind after having picked up his thoughts.

"Because we just got beaten three times in a row by these kids from this nowhere place called Pallet Town." The blue-haired sister said.

_'Figures.'_ Ash sweatdropped.

"It was just one defeat after the other." The blue-haired girl continued, "My eyes where spinning from all the loses."

"We had to like, practically rush all our Pokémon to the Pokémon Center." The blond-haired Sensational Sister said.

"This is the only one left." The pink-haired one said as she took out a Pokéball from...somewhere on her badingsuit she was wearing. Ash for the life him couldn't think up of any place she could have stashed it on her person.

The pink-haired Sensational Sister threw the Pokéball which opened up to reveal a Goldeen who flopped uselessly on the tiled Gym floor.

The pink-haired sister recalled Goldeen back into it's Pokéball, "If it would evolve into Seaking, we could use it. But right now all it can do is it's Horn Attack."

"So, like, there's no point in battling." The blond sister said.

The pink-haired sister piped up excitedly, "Now, instead of doing matches, we have more time to make us look more beautiful than ever!"

"But I need that Badge..." Ash muttered.

The blond one shrugged, "It's all right, you can have it." She announced and clapped her hands. A Seel appeared from the pool and opened it's mouth, revealing a water drop shaped Badge. The blond Sensational Sister took it and turned to hold it out to Ash, "Here, the Cascade Badge. It's what you want, right?"

Ash hesitated, he wanted to earn his Badges, he didn't want them just be given to him on a silver platter. He sighed, these girls wouldn't battle him anyway, better just take it. He started to reach out for the Badge.

"Hold it right there!" A voice that everyone there recognized echoed in the Gym.

Ash blinked as Misty jumped down from the stands where she had been watching all this time and landed in between him and the Sensational Sisters.

The three sisters looked surprised before the blond one gathered her wits and spook, "Hey there little sister. Back already?"

Ash's, Riolu's and Pikachu's eyes widened at hearing that, _'Little sister?'_ All three thought, surprised.

"Misty...what are you doing here?" Ash questioned, "Weren't you headed into the city?"

Misty shrugged, "I changed my mind. So I came to watch your match only to find that my sisters where about to just give you the Cascade Badge." Misty looked at her sisters and growled, "You dumb bimbos…I leave for a few weeks and you just start _giving away_ Badges."

The Three Sensational Sister took a step back at their younger sister's furious expression, knowing that she had a mean temper when angered.

The blue-haired sister raised her hands in a placating manner, "It's only temporary Misty. Just until our Pokémon teams have recovered and we've trained some more."

Misty growled, but conceded with a nod, "You better or else..." She threatened before transferring her gaze to Ash, "Anyway, Ash, it goes against my pride as a Cerulean City Gym leader to just watch my sisters just give you the Cascade badge. You'll have to fight and beat me to earn it!" Misty declared.

Ash grinned, "Fine by me. I was looking forwards to a battle anyway!" He said and made way for the challenger box at one end of the pool that was the Gym arena. Misty took her spot at the Gym leader box at the other end of the pool.

Misty looked seriously at Ash, "We will be battling with the same rules as when you challenged Brock, Ash. A three on three battle. Only the challenger will be allowed to substitute their Pokémon. The battle will be over when one side is unable to continue." She said and grabbed a Pokéball.

Ash grabbed his own Pokéball and threw it at the same time Misty threw her own.

"I choose you, Pidgeotto!"

"Misty calls Staryu!"

Pidgeotto appeared flying high above the surface of the pool and Staryu materialized on one of the platform's in the water. Pidgeotto and Staryu glared at their opponent.

Ash grinned, "Let's start of strong! Pidgeotto! use Aerial Ace!" Pidgeotto nodded and sped forwards. As the wind blades of Aerial Ace appeared around her body Pidgeotto sped up immensely as she came swooping down, aiming to hit Staryu head on.

Misty countered quickly, "Quick! Jump into the water to dodge and then counter attack with Rapid Spin!" Staryu quickly obliged and jumped into the water, just in time two in order to evade Pidgeotto's Aerial Ace attack. Just as Pidgeotto started flying back up Staryu appeared from the water with a splash, spinning rapidly on it's side as it shot up after Pidgeotto.

"Knock it away with Steel Wing!" Ash commanded. Pidgeotto rapidly turned around to face the incoming Staryu directly. Pidgeotto's wings started to shine brightly as they hardened to steel. Just as Staryu was about to ram into Pidgeotto she smacked Staryu away with her left steel hardened wing, knocking Staryu back into the water with an audible splash.

"Use Water Gun!" Misty dictated. The top point of Staryu's body appeared from the water and angled towards Pidgeotto. A stream of highly pressurized water was launched from the golden tip which flew directly at Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto! Use Aerial Ace!" Pidgeotto easily evaded the Water Gun as she swerved around the attack. The wind blades of Aerial Ace appeared around Pidgeotto as she dive bombed at Staryu. Staryu's top point quickly disappeared back under water just as Pidgeotto swooped over the water where Staryu just was.

"Use Water Gun again!" Misty ordered. Staryu's top point once again appeared from the water and angled at the rapidly climbing in the air Pidgeotto and spat out another pressurized stream of water at the avian Pokémon.

"Dodge it!" Ash ordered frantically. Pidgeotto swerved to the left and evaded the attack. Staryu angled it's top point after the rapidly flying Pidgeotto, angling it's Water Gun after Pidgeotto but was unable to hit the Flying and Normal-Type as she kept on dodging the attack.

The match continued on in this vain for a while. Pidgeotto being unable to hit Staryu as it would disappear under water before she could land an attack and Staryu being unable to hit Pidgeotto because she was to fast and managed to evade all of Staryu's attacks.

Ash gritted his teeth, _'If this goes on Pidgeotto might get worn out. I need to do Something!'_ Ash paused as he saw the water in the pool splashing and splitting any time Staryu broke the surface. Ash grinned as an idea came to him, "Pidgeotto! use Air Slash on the water! Full power!" Pidgeotto obliged the command without question and flapped her wings as hard as she could. With a mighty clap of wind two huge white blades of wind were formed and sped at the water in the pool. Staryu sank further down into the water to make sure that the attack couldn't reach it.

To Misty's and Staryu's shock the incredibly powerful Air Slash split the water in the pool down the middle, parting the water in the pool and revealing Staryu.

"Quickly Pidgeotto! Use Aerial Ace!" Pidgeotto dive bombed the now panicking Staryu. The wind blades of Aerial Ace swiftly materialized around the avian Pokémon. Before Staryu even had the thought of dodging the attack Pidgeotto rammed into Staryu with a full powered Aerial Ace and smashed the Star Shape Pokémon into the floor of the pool. Pidgeotto quickly flew back up before the water she had split down the middle moved back into place. With a thundering splash the two swats of water joined back together again, engulfing Staryu.

"Staryu!" Misty cried out in concern.

A moment later Staryu floated back up, the jewel in it's center blinking rapidly, donating it's defeat. Misty sighed and recalled Staryu, while thanking it for it's efforts.

"Well done Pidgeotto." Ash said to the first Pokémon he had ever caught. Pidgeotto chirped happily as her trainer complimented her.

"This fight is far from over Ash!" Misty called out as she grabbed another Pokéball and hurhled it forwards, "Starmie! Show him how powerful Water Pokémon can be!" Misty's Starmie materialized on a platform in the water, standing at the ready for battle.

To Misty's surprise Ash didn't recal Pidgeotto like he had done when he had his match with Brock. She gritted her teeth as she realized why he didn't switch Pokémon, _'Dammit! He isn't switching Pokémon because with Pidgeotto's Air Slash attack he's able to negate the advantage that my Pokémon would have in the water. Even if he switches Pokémon he would be able to do the same with Pikachu thanks to his electrical attacks. I'm at a serious disadvantage here!'_ Misty thought ferociously as it dawned on her how much she was at a disadvantage.

Seeing that her greatest advantage had been negated Misty decided to change up her attack pattern a bit, "Starmie! Use Psychic! Throw that Pidgeotto into the water!" Starmie's jewel like core lit up with a powerful blue aura as it asserted it's psychic powers

Before Ash had the chance to give a counter command Starmie had all ready mentally grabbed Pidgeotto, clear from the blue outline of psychic energy around Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto squirmed in pain as Starmie's mental powers bombarded her body. With a scream, Starmie threw Pidgeotto into the water as hard as it could. Pidgeotto entered the water with a startled and pained squawk and quickly disappeared under the water's surface.

"Pidgeotto!" Ash shouted in concern.

"We have them now Starmie! Into the water and use Rapid Spin continuously until Pidgeotto is unconscious!" Misty quickly commanded, seizing the opportunity. Starmie jumped into the water and immediately charged at the struggling figure of Pidgeotto, rapidly spinning on it's side as it used Rapid Spin. Starmie smashed into Pidgeotto, who clenched her beak in pain and to make sure that she didn't lose the little air she had left.

_'Dammit! No choice!'_ Ash thought as he used his Aura sight to see what was going on under water. Ash quickly commanded an attack that he had specifically taught Pidgeotto in order to get out of a tight spot, "Pidgeotto! Use U-turn!" Pidgeotto barely heard him under water but obeyed regardless. Just as Starmie came back for another pass with Rapid Spin Pidgeotto's body was enshrouded in a bright blue orb of energy. The energy orb that held Pidgeotto rocketed forwards under water and smashed into Starmie, easily overpowering it's Rapid Spin attack and sending Starmie soaring back. Starmie cried out in pain

As the name of the attack suggested the energy orb that held Pidgeotto made a U-turn back to Ash. Ash held up Pidgeotto's Pokéball as the energy sphere that held Pidgeotto rocketed from the water and soared at Ash. Pidgeotto's Pokéball opened and the blue energy turned red in colour as Pidgeotto was automatically returned to her Pokéball thanks to the effects of U-turn. Pidgeotto's Pokéball clicked shut. Ash shrunk Pidgeotto's Pokéball and put it back onto his belt.

Misty was shocked, "What kind of attack was that?!" She absently noted that Starmie had jumped back onto one of the platforms in the water, looking a bit shaken from the damage it had taken.

Ash shrugged, "U-turn is a Bug-Type move that's perfect to get out of a tight spot. It attacks your opponent and then automatically returns the Pokémon that had used it back to it's Pokéball, no matter the situation." He explained. Ash grinned, "But seeing that you have forced me to use it I'm now getting serious. Pikachu, let's do this!" Pikachu grinned and jumped to one of the platforms in the water, his cheeks sparking with electricity.

Riolu chuckled, _"This is going to be good! One fried starfish coming up!"_ He said as he looked intently at the coming battle.

Misty's eyes narrowed, "I need to get the first move in if I want to win." She muttered to herself before launching into the offensive, "Starmie! Psychic!" Once again Starmie's central jewel lit up with a fiery blue aura as it exerted it's psychic powers.

Ash didn't give Starmie a chance to use it, "Quick-Attack!" Pikachu shot of like a bullet, a gentle white light trailing in his wake and shining across his body as his speed was augmented far past his norm. Pikachu was more than fast enough with his speed enhanced by his Quick-Attack to simply run over the water. Pikachu blitzt the surprised Starmie and smashed into Starmie's central jewel, knocking Starmie onto it's back. Pikachu landed on top of Starmie, pinning it down.

Misty's eyes widened in alarm. Ash grinned fiercely, "We got you now! Pikachu! Use ThunderBolt!" Pikachu cheeks sparked with electricity. Pikachu screamed his name as his body was enshrouded with powerful electricity and since Starmie was in direct contact with Pikachu it was also completely engulfed by the ThunderBolt attack.

"Starmie!" Misty shouted in concern as Starmie screeched in pain from being engulfed by the super-effective attack. The moment the attack ended Pikachu jumped of off Starmie, which allowed Misty to see that the jewel that made up Starmie's center was blinking rapidly, signifying it's defeat. Misty sighed and recalled Starmie. She thanked Starmie for it's efforts as she recalled her Pokémon.

Misty grabbed her last Pokéball, _'This is it. My last Pokémon. I haven't used him in an official battle yet and Ash has beaten him once before already but he is my most powerful Pokémon, especially when it comes to pure power.'_ Misty thought before hurling the Pokéball into the air, "I need your help, Gyarados!" The Pokéball opened and in a white flash of light the huge sea serpent that was Gyarados appeared in the pool in his full glory, letting out a roar that shook the building.

The Three Sensational Sisters who had been watcing the match from the sidelines since the beginning jumped back in fright at the sudden and spectacular emergence of the Atrocious Pokémon, "A Gyarados! When did Misty capture a Gyarados?!" The blond-haired sister said, slightly hysterical in fear of the massive sea serpent. Misty ignored her older sisters fear and concentrated on the battle.

"Gyarados! DragonBreath!" Misty ordered quickly, knowing that she only had a chance to win if she didn't give Ash the chance to attack himself. Gyarados opened his already gaping maw even further and spat out a jet of green fire at Pikachu.

"Dodge it and then use ThunderBolt!" Pikachu slammed his tail into the platform, using the recoil to send himself flying high up into the air and over the DragonBreath attack. While in the air Pikachu's cheeks sparked before he launched a golden bolt of electricity directly at Gyarados.

"Quick Gyarados! Use Hyper Beam!" Gyarados quickly gathered the energy for Hyper Beam in his gaping maw, forming a volatile orange orb of energy in his maw, before quickly firing that energy at the incoming ThunderBolt as he used Hyper Beam. The Hyper Beam easily overpowered Pikachu's ThunderBolt attack and soared at the still flying in mid-air Pikachu.

"Deflect that Hyper beam with Thunder!" Ash countered quickly. Pikachu gathered a colossal amount of electricity before launching it in the form of a massive bolt of lightning that he arced at the incoming Hyper beam. The Hyper Beam and Thunder clashed against each other with so much force that the water under the collision was pushed aside from the sheer power the attacks exuded. Then the colliding attacks detonated, creating a smokescreen that covered the entire pool that was the battlefield.

Ash closed his eyes and activated his Aura sight. The smokescreen was replaced with a clear blue image of the world. Ash grinned as Pikachu landed back onto the platform, knowing that this was his chance to end it.

Misty knew it two and quickly ordered an attack to prevent it, "Gyarados! Use Surf!" Gyarados dove into the water, the action creating a small tsunami that covered the entire pool and headed straight for Pikachu.

"Jump into the water and then use Discharge!" Pikachu jumped into the water, getting under and evading the miniature tsunami. Pikachu grinned before using Discharge under water, sending bolts of lightning flying everywhere. The water conducted the electricity through the entire pool, making the water blaze yellow as Pikachu's attack reached every inch of the battlefield. Gyarados roared in pain as more than a thousand volts of electricity was pumped into his body.

Surprisingly Gyarados managed to survive the attack. Gyarados was panting hard and burn marks covered his entire body but he was determined to prove that it would take a lot more than that to take him out.

Ash was prepared to do a lot more than that, though, "Thunder!" Once more the pool blazed yellow, this time several shades brighter than the last time. Gyarados once again roared in pain as an even stronger electric current coursed through his body. Gyarados fell into the water with a loud splash, the damage simply being too much for him. He was knocked out cold.

Misty sighed and recalled Gyarados, "You where great, Gyarados. I'm proud of you." She whispered to Gyarados's Pokéball, knowing that Gyarados could hear her.

Ash's Pokédex, that was in his pocket, started to vibrate. The red machine activated with a beep, "Winner of the 3 on 3 battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, Age: 10, and Gym leader Misty Waterflower of Cerulean City, Age: 10, is Ash Ketchum... Calculating winnings...Calculating...done... Ash Ketchum receives 252 Credits." The red machine informed it's owner.

Pikachu jumped out of the water and shook out his fur, sending water droplets flying everywhere. Pikachu grinned and jumped into his trainers waiting arms before taking his regular place on Ash's shoulder.

Ash smiled, "Good work Pikachu. You've earned yourself an extra-large bottle of ketchup tonight." Pikachu smiled, already looking forwards to guzzling down his favorite little snack. Riolu chuckled from his spot on Ash's other shoulder, knowing full well about Pikachu's addiction to ketchup.

Misty was already making her way around the pool to him. Ash decided to meet her half way and rounded the pool as well. Misty smiled at Ash, "Well, Ash, you have beaten me and more than earned the Cascade Badge."

Misty took the Cascade Badge from her blond sister's hands and held it out towards Ash. Ash smiled and graciously took the offered Badge. He pinned it to the inside of his jacket, right next to the Boulder badge.

Pikachu smirked, "Pika _(And that makes two. Six more to go)_!"

"I have to say little sister that you had quite the battle." The elder sibling with the blue hair said.

Misty smiled at the compliment, "Thanks."

"Of course. Since we got the good looks in the family you had to get _some _talent." She finished.

A gigantic tick mark appeared on Misty's brow as her older sisters laughed at her. Ash nervously edged away from the explosion he knew was coming, an explosion that for good or bad got disrupted before it could even begin.

Suddenly the wall on the other side of the pool cracked audibly and then crumbled as a huge machine came blasting through the wall. Two familiar Humans and one Pokémon stood on top of it

"Now that we're here, we can finally put this baby to good use." Jessie said with a fierce grin.

"Time to collect our Pokémon." James said, smirking.

"Meowth, start the machine." Jessie said.

"Who are those weirdos?" The pink-haired sister suddenly asked.

All three Team Rocket members got huge tick marks on their brows, "We aren't weirdos!" Jessie and James screamed in pure rage as Meowth turned on the machine. One huge hose lowered into the water and started sucking up the water like a vacuum.

"A giant vacuum and a hose? Of course! Team Rocket had robbed that place! Why didn't I make the connection?" Ash mentally smacked himself for being so clueless.

"Hey! That's our pool!" The blue-haired Sensational Sister cried.

"You're right, I should give it back." Meowth said as he put the machine in reverse. The gigantic hose lifted up out of the water and lifted up to the ceiling and spouted the water back out, sending out one huge wave of water all over the Gym.

Ash and Misty jumped back just in time to evade the wave of water. The Three Sensational Sisters threw themselves to the right, only just evading the water attack.

"We've gotta save the Pokémon!" Misty said.

"Like, what about my hair!" The blue-haired elder sister cried out.

"Time to suck em up." Meowth said as he set the machine back to suction.

Once again the huge hose lowered back into the water and started sucking up the water. Seel, who was still in the water got caught up in the current and was being pulled towards the hose.

"Riolu! Use Aura Sphere on that machine!" Riolu jumped up from Ash's shoulder and cupped his palms, forming the Aura Sphere in between them in less than a second, and hurled it at the machine. Jessie and James gave a startled yelp and ducked as the Aura Sphere flew right at them. The Aura Sphere smashed into the machine's controls and drilled straight through the machine's steel plating and detonated inside of it, wrecking the machine.

The hose fell slack into the water as the suction disappeared. Seel quickly swam as far away as possible from the machine.

"Dammit! We'll have to do it the old-fashioned way then!" Jessie said as she grabbed Ekans Pokéball. James quickly did the same and grabbed Koffing's Pokéball.

Ash wouldn't give them the chance, "Thunder!" He ordered quickly. Pikachu launched another massive lightning bolt at Team Rocket. The Thunder attack arced up and came down to engulf Team Rocket's machine and Team Rocket itself. The machine exploded sending Team Rocket flying out of the hole in the wall and of into the sky. They screamed as they vanished into the distance.

Ash sighed, "That takes care of those weirdos again."

Misty facepalmed, "That's the _fourth _time we've had to deal with them in a weeks time! I have a feeling that we'll be dealing with them for a _long _time."

"In that case I don't envy you little sister." Her blond elder sibling said as all three Sensational Sister approached them.

The Three Sensational Sisters quickly led Misty and Ash outside, where they took the chance to say goodbye to Misty, "Misty, you go right on trying to become a Master Water Pokémon trainer, you might as well be good at something, because you'll never be stars like us." The pink-haired sister said.

"You keep saying that and you'll be seeing stars!" Misty snapped back.

"Chill out." The blue-haired sister said, raising her hands in a placating manner.

"Misty be careful. You know we love you." The blond sister said.

"Yeah." Misty said, nodding her head.

"Ash! Misty!" Both Ash and Misty turned around to see Brock running up to them.

"Hey Brock." Ash greeted him.

"How did it go?" The aspiring Pokémon breeder asked.

"See for yourself." Ash said proudly as he showed Brock the Cascade badge.

"Cool, let's go." Brock said, all ready turning to leave.

Ash and Misty quickly caught up with him started making their way back the way they came into Cerulean City. Misty's older sisters watched them leave all the way until they disappeared from their sight, all the while wishing their sister and her friends the best of luck on their journey.

* * *

**A/N: And that was chapter eleven and the revamped Cerulean City Gym match! I hope you people liked it!  
**

**Please Review and do whatever the hell you like afterwards!**

**Your dearest,**

**Theblazinghope2235.**


	12. Chapter 12: Meeting Your Match

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

"Speech"

_(PokéSpeech)_

_'Thoughts'_

_"Telepathy"_

And here is chapter twelve! I really like this chapter, I don't know why, though. Anyway! Just read and enjoy!

* * *

"Pidgeotto! Finish it with Aerial Ace!"

Pidgeotto smashed her wind blade incased body head on into a Raticate, sending the vicious looking Pokémon flying back with exceptional force. It's trainer watched on in shock as his most powerful Pokémon soared into a rocky outcropping, shattering it and sending Raticate into sweet unconsciousness.

Ash's Pokédex quickly tallied his winnings, "Winner of the 1 on 1 battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, Age: 10, Ron Setenta of Cerulean City, Age: 10, is Ash Ketchum... Calculating winnings...Calculating...done... Ash Ketchum receives 67 Credits."

"Well done Pidgeotto." Ash congratulated the Normal and Flying-Type as she once again crushed one of his opponents. He held out his arm, allowing Pidgeotto to land on his wrist. Riolu and Pikachu, who as always where on Ash's shoulders, congratulated her as well. Behind the celebrating trainer and his Pokémon where Misty and Brock who clapped for his victory.

Ash's opponent, another young trainer just as old as Ash recalled his Raticate with a defeated sigh, before shaking his head and stepping forwards to Ash, "You're a really great Pokémon trainer. I hope that I can one day match you."

Ash gave a friendly smile at the other trainer's admission, "Well, I've been training my Pokémon for a while now..."

"You're really good." the trainer continued on saying, "Why, I bet that you can even beat A.J."

Ash raised an eyebrow in interest, "A.J?" He questioned.

The young trainer nodded, "A.J, better known as the Savage Trainer, is an incredible trainer who has never lost a battle yet. I fought him a couple of days ago. He beat me almost as fast as you did."

Ash grinned hearing this, "This A.J sounds like a real challenge." He mused.

"He is. Trust me, they don't call him the Savage Trainer for nothing. His Pokémon are monsters and his fighting style and tactics are brutal and wild. He would squash any ordinary trainer, but you might be able to beat him." The young trainer said, a small amount of his fear for this A.J shining through.

Ash's grin grew a couple of inches as he thought of the tough challenge this A.J presented. All the battles, except for the one with Gary at the very start of his journey, had honestly been quite easy. He had never lost a battle, heck, none of his Pokémon had ever been knocked out before. He had switched them yes, but they where never knocked out. This A.J though... he could really give him the challenge he had been looking for.

"And where can I find this A.J?" Ash asked.

"Just keep on walking down the road. A.J has a small arena besides the road for battling. You can't miss it." The trainer pointed down the dirt road.

"Thank you and good luck." Ash held out his hand to trainer he had just beaten. The trainer took it and shook it firmly. The trainer quickly said his goodbye's to the group and left the scene as Ash and his friends started walking down the road.

"You seem to be very eager, Ash." Brock observed as they continued on down the road.

"Of course I am. This A.J might be the challenge I have been looking for." Ash said, grinning fiercely.

"Why, I mean, haven't you had any tough battles before?" Misty asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ash shook his head, "Not really. No offence but the only person that has ever come remotely close in beating me is my rival Gary. All the other matches I have had have never really gotten to the point I might lose."

Brock frowned, seeing that he vividly remembered Ash crushing him in their Gym match, but nodded nonetheless, "True. Every single battle I've seen you participate in you always dominate your opponent. You're Pokémon are way above the level of trainers around these parts."

Misty sighed, "Unfortunately that also counts for us two. Ash crushed us both in our respective Gym matches. Ash, those Pokémon of yours are real monsters." Ash grinned at Misty's words. Pikachu and Riolu puffed out their chests in pride.

"But now, this A.J might be able to keep up with me! Someone named the Savage Trainer must have powerful Pokémon! I've been looking forwards to a real challenge ever since I've set off! Someone that will be able to push me and my Pokémon to their limits! I'm so excited!" Ash said, excitement practically rolling of off him in waves. Then he pretty much took of running down the road, dead set to test his skills against this A.J.

"Hey, not so fast, Ash!" Brock shouted after his friend before he two took of running in order to catch up with the excited Pallet Town trainer.

"Guys! Wait up!" Misty shouted as she ran after them.

It took the gang not even five minutes to reach A.J's battle arena at the blistering pace Ash had set. When Ash stopped running Brock and Misty promptly collapsed behind him, falling to the ground in exhaustion.

Ash looked up, grinning fiercely as he looked at the entrance of A.J's battle arena. It was fenced of by a series of high wooden beams that towered into the sky. Above the great wooden gate that served as the entrance to the battle arena hung what seemed to be an electric scoreboard of sorts. It read: 00 losses and 98 win's.

Ash's smirked at the score. He chuckled, _'It's time to break this guys win-streak.' _Riolu, who had picked up his thoughts, had an identical smirk on his face. Pikachu, who could easily guess what his trainer was thinking about, smirked as well.

"Pika. (_This is going to be fun)_." Pikachu commented, an excited gleam in his coal black eyes.

Riolu chuckled, _"I really hope this guy is a challenge. I've been wanting to test my mettle against a real opponent."_

_"As have I" _Ash thought to them, using his Aura to convey his agreement.

Brock dragged his body into a standing position after finally regaining his strength. He levelled a light glare at Ash, "Next time warn a guy will ya."

"Yeah! We're not olympic runners, Ash!" Misty complained as she two managed to stand back up.

Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry."

Before the two former Gym leaders could continue to chastise Ash an explosion echoed out over the area. All three youths and Ash's Pokémon looked up, surprised to see Team Rocket's Meowth balloon high up in the sky. Seconds later it was destroyed, a huge fireball enveloping it in a hellish inferno that consumed the balloon in mere moments.

Then they heard an all to familiar trio of screams, "Team Rocket! Blasting of again!" Ash and the rest looked on as the highly annoying trio of Pokémon thieves that had a penchant for following them around was blasted of to parts unknown. This time themselves not being the reason for sending the thieves packing.

The gang idly noted that the score of win's on the scoreboard went up from 98 to 99.

Misty raised an eyebrow, "It seems that Team Rocket doesn't only annoy us." She mused

"Well, no surprise there. Thieves will try to steal anywhere they think they can get away with it." Brock commented.

Ash sighed, "They have already been dealt with anyway. It's now time to see how strong this A.J truly is!" He commented excitedly. He banged his fist against the wooden gate, trying to get this A.J's attention.

It worked as mere moments later the gate inwardly swung open, displaying the battle arena for all to see.

Ash raised an eyebrow at what he recognized was an professional setup. On a raised patch of earth a battlefield that was strikingly similar to a Gym arena waited. Around this arena where several stands where a pretty big audience could take a seat. In the background was one huge conical tent where he supposed this so called Savage Trainer and his Pokémon made their home.

In front this setup stood a youth, about the same age of Ash. This youth had spiked dark green hair with sharp features and deep black eyes. He wore a red and black short sleeved shirt, short blue jeans and red sneakers.

_'So.'_ Ash thought, _'This is A.J. He looks...intense.'_ He mused. This A.J looked at him with an intensity and vigour that almost made him recoil. Ash could feel A.J's emotions clearly through his Aura. It was a mixture of excitement, vigour and pure will that was practically being blasted out from his fellow youth.

Ash smirked, this one had spirit and an inner fire that could match his. This was going to be awesome.

"So." The Savage trainer spook, "Are you my next victim?"

Ash took a step forwards, a challenging and excited gleam in his eyes, "No. I'm the next victor."

A.J snorted, but had an equally challenging and excited gleam in his eyes. He could practically taste Ash's desire to battle and win, "Good, very good. My last and one-hundred win must be real challenge. After I have beaten you and complete my win-streak I'll start competing for Badges. I'm going all the way to the Indigo League and you'll be the one to kick-start my journey to victory. You should feel honoured."

"You sure are confident aren't ya." Ash commented, before smirking, "But I guess with a near one-hundred win-streak you have a right to be confident. Then again, I've never lost a match either."

A.J raised an eyebrow, but looked even more excited than before, "Really? That makes two of us. Never before have I lost a match and I sure as hell don't plan to start now. You will never beat me."

Ash started walking forwards, an intense and extreme focus in his eyes as he concentrated on his future opponent in the upcoming battle and in his dream in becoming a Pokémon Master, "We'll see, we'll see." Ash muttered, just hard enough for A.J to hear, "Let's stop dawdling. I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

A.J smirked, "I accept." He said simply. The Savage Trainer turned and made for his place on one end of the battlefield. Ash quickly took his own spot on the other end of the battlefield. Misty and Brock took a place behind him. They themselves where also pretty excited, expecting a great show from these two talented and focused young trainers.

"Rules?" Ash asked, itching to do battle.

"Two on two. We're both allowed to substitute. The battle is over if one side is out of usable Pokémon." A.J laid down the conditions and grabbed a Pokéball from his belt.

Ash grinned, "Music to my ears." He said and reached up to pet Pikachu.

"Come on out, Magmar!" A.J threw his Pokéball, which popped open to reveal a Magmar.

Magmar smashed his fists together, eager for battle, "Mar! _(Ready for battle)_!" Magmar said in a deep masculine voice, donating that he was male.

Ash took out his Pokédex and trained it on Magmar, "Magmar, the Spitfire Pokémon. It's body is like a furnace, making Magmar a living inferno. It has been discovered only near active volcanoes." The machine informed it's owner.

"Pikachu, you're up." Ash said. Pikachu grinned and jumped from his trainers shoulder and landed on the battlefield, standing at the ready for battle. Pikachu and Magmar glared at each other, challenging and calling out their opponent.

"Let's start of with Flamethrower!" A.J commanded quickly. Magmar obeyed immediately and took a deep breath before spitting out a powerful stream of fire directly at Pikachu.

"Dodge it and then use ThunderBolt!" Ash countered. Pikachu ran to the side, his cheeks already sparking with electricity. Magmar angled his Flamethrower after the electric mouse but Pikachu easily continued to out run the stream of fire. The moment Magmar let up on his Flamethrower attack Pikachu stopped running, turned towards Magmar and launched a bolt of golden lightning at Magmar.

"Evade it and then use Flame Charge!" Magmar simply sidestepped Pikachu's ThunderBolt attack. Magmar's body became enshrouded in fire before the Spitfire Pokémon rocketed forwards at incredible speed, aiming to ram his body head on into Pikachu.

_'Attacking and trying to increase his speed at the same time aye.' _Ash thought, knowing full well about the secondary effect of Flame Charge, _'Not happening!' _"Pikachu! Stop Magmar's Flame Charge with Discharge!" Pikachu cried out his name as his body was enshrouded by powerful electricity before spears of lightning where sent flying in all directions. Multiple of these spears of lightning pierced into Magmar's Flame Charge attack and detonated the veil of fire covering the Spitfire Pokémon, halting the attack.

Magmar cried out in pain as his attack exploded around him and as Pikachu's Discharge attack struck the Fire-Type and enveloped his body in lightning. In spite of this Magmar continued on charging at Pikachu who was at the center of the storm of lightning that was his Discharge attack.

"Keep on charging in Magmar and use Fire Punch!" Magmar continued on rushing into the maelstrom of lightning, heedless of the damage he was taking. Magmar clenched his right fist tightly, a veil of blazing fire covering it in seconds. The moment Magmar reached Pikachu at the center of the Discharge attack he reared back his arm and punched the electric mouse as hard as he could with his flame covered fist.

Pikachu screeched in pain and was sent flying back, his Discharge attack halting immediatly. He landed on his feet in front of Ash, panting mildly from the damage he had taken and idly rubbing at the burn mark he had received from Magmar's Fire Punch.

"Keep it up Magmar, use Flamethrower!" A.J followed up quickly. Magmar took a deep breath at A.J's command and spat out a stream of fire directly at Pikachu.

"Counter it with Thunder!" Ash commanded. Pikachu gathered a colossal amount of lightning before launching a massive lightning bolt at Magmar's incoming Flamethrower. The Thunder attack broke through Magmar's Flamethrower with alarming ease and continued on at the Spitfire Pokémon.

"Jump up and use Fire Blast!" A.J dictated, improvising on the fly. Magmar jumped straight up, evading the Thunder attack. Magmar took a deep breath before belching out a five pointed star of fire down at Pikachu.

"Evade with Quick-Attack!" Pikachu sped forwards, white light trailing in his wake and enshrouding his body. Magmar's Fire Blast attack slammed into the ground behind him, creating an explosion of fire but not hitting Pikachu. Pikachu jumped, aiming his body at Magmar.

"Flame Charge!" A.J barked. Magmar's body detonated into an orb of fire. He rocketed downwards, directly at the incoming Pikachu.

"Pika/Mar! _(Take this/Take this)_!" Pikachu and Magmar said at the same time as they closed in on each other. They met with a thunderous clash, creating a massive explosion. Pikachu rocketed downwards and slammed into the ground while Magmar was flung high up into the air. Just as the Spitfire Pokémon landed lightly in front of his trainer Pikachu managed to drag himself into a standing position. Both Pokémon panted tiredly, the battle taking it's toll on the both of them. Both Ash and A.J where grinning, both being very pleased by the challenge the other was presenting to them.

"ThunderBolt!" Ash commanded. Pikachu's cheeks sparked before he launched a medium-sized bolt of lightning at Magmar.

"Use Protect!" A.J countered. Magmar threw his arms forwards, palms facing the incoming ThunderBolt attack. A green dome of energy appeared around Magmar. The ThunderBolt attack struck the protective sphere with a lot of force but was unable to penetrate the defensive move. Pikachu growled.

"And now Flame Charge!" Once again Magmar rocketed forwards as his body was enshrouded by a flaming inferno. This time Magmar was noticeably much faster then the previous two times he had used Flame Charge.

"Jump!" Pikachu did as commanded and jumped straight up into the air. Magmar simply jumped after Pikachu in order to adjust for Pikachu's shift in position. Ash grinned as Magmar did exactly what he had wanted him to do, "Electro Ball!"

An orb of compressed electricity formed on the tip of Pikachu's lightning bolt tail as a golden glow emanated from his tail, "Pika Pika Pika." He chanted as he charged the Electro Ball to maximum power and then he flipped in mid-air as he launched the attack, "CHUPI!" Pikachu screamed as he launched the Electro Ball from his tail. It was by far to late for Magmar to adjust his flight. Pikachu's Electro Ball smashed into Magmar, halting his Flame Charge attack with an explosion and replacing the fire enveloping Magmar's body with lightning. Magmar cried out in pain, eyes scrunched up in pain.

"Don't flinch! Use Flamethrower!" Magmar's eyes snapped open and righted himself as he adjusted from the hit he took. Magmar took a deep breath while still in mid-air and spat out a stream of fire at Pikachu. Pikachu took the attack directly. He screeched as the flames washed over him and pushed him back. Magmar landed without trouble on the ground. Pikachu fell helplessly head-first to the ground, seemingly out cold.

"Wake Up! You can do it Pikachu!" Pikachu's eyes snapped open as Ash's voice reached him, "Use ThunderBolt _and then Dig.__" _Ash commanded, adding the last part mentally through his Aura.

As Pikachu kept falling to the ground he launched a ThunderBolt attack at Magmar. He continued on to fall and immediately disappeared underground when he reached the ground as he used Dig.

"Protect!" A.J dictated. Once again the green protective sphere of Protect descended over Magmar as he raised his arms, palms aimed towards the incoming ThunderBolt. And once again the Protect easily deflected Pikachu's ThunderBolt, which struck the shield to no effect.

Magmar's Protect fell seconds later. Both A.J and Magmar blinked when they noticed that Pikachu was gone. A.J's eyes widened in alarm when he saw the hole in the ground that Pikachu had disappeared into, "Quick Magmar! Jum-" Just then Pikachu exploded upwards from the ground right underneath Magmar. Magmar looked down shocked, locking eyes with a smirking Pikachu for but a second. Pikachu smashed his tiny fist underneath Magmar's chin, actually sending the far larger Pokémon flying into the air. Magmar screeched in pain from the super-effective Dig attack.

"Don't let up Pikachu! Use Thunder! Max power!" Ash followed up immediately.

"Pika-CHUUUU! _(Chew on this)_!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked fiercely as he gathered the enourmes amount of electricity he needed for his max power Thunder attack. Without missing a beat Pikachu fired a huge column of lightning skywards at Magmar, who was still flying like a sack of potatoes through the air. The Thunder attack enveloped Magmar in seconds as it pierced into the sky, setting the arena ablaze in yellow light.

"Magmar!" A.J cried out as he saw his Pokémon screech in pain inside the Thunder attack. The lightning continued shooting skywards for over a minute as Pikachu wanted to be sure that Magmar wasn't getting up after this. The moment Pikachu cut off his Thunder attack the lightning quickly disappeared into nothingness. Magmar fell bonelessly to the ground. He crashed into the ground right in front off A.J. Magmar's eyes turned to swirls.

A.J sighed before recalling his Magmar, "Magmar, return." He said as he held up Magmar's Pokéball. Magmar turned into red energy and was sucked into the Pokéball, "You did good. Have a nice long rest." He said before shrinking Magmar's Pokéball and clipping it to his belt.

A.J grabbed another Pokéball, "I have to admit, Ash, that you're a great trainer and the biggest challenge I have ever faced. It's fitting that my final battle to reach my goal is such a challenge," A.J smirked, "But Ash, I have no intention of losing this battle. It's time for you to face my most powerful Pokémon. Come on out, Sandshrew!" In a flash of white light A.J's most powerful Pokémon appeared, a Sandshrew.

Sandshrew glared fiercely at them, "Shrew! _(We'll win)_! Sandshrew promised with a deep gutteral voice, showing that he was male.

Ash once again took out his Pokédex and trained it on Sandshrew, "Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokémon. Sandshrew hates moisture and lives in holes it digs in dry places. It protects itself by curling into a ball."

Ash frowned and looked at Sandshrew, who flexed it's claws in preparation for battle, "It doesn't look tough." He muttered, _'Then again, Sandshrew is a Ground-Type which is bad news for Pikachu. Not to mention that Sandshrew's have very good defences and endurance. I'll have to be careful on this one.'_ He thought, already preparing a battle strategy.

"Get in close Sandshrew and use Scratch!" A.J started things of. Sandshrew rushed at Pikachu, it's claws lengthening and glowing a fierce white.

"Block it with Iron Tail!" Pikachu's tail shone brightly as it hardened to mimic steel like properties. Just as Sandshrew slashed with out with his claws Pikachu twisted around and slashed with his steel hardened tail, meeting Sandshrew's claws with a loud clang, stopping the attack cold.

"And now use Hidden Power!" A.J continued on without missing a beat, not caring that his attack had been stopped so easily. Sandshrew called out it's name as he began to glow and generated several spheres of white energy around him.

Ash's and Pikachu's eyes widened in alarm, "Get out of their Pikachu!" Pikachu was about to take of running in an attempt to give himself space to dodge the about to be launched attack.

It was by far to late, though. Sandshrew fired the energy spheres of Hidden Power at point blank range, hitting Pikachu all over his body. Pikachu went flying, crying out in pain. Pikachu recovered in mid-air and twisted around, landing on his feet in front of Ash.

"Dig!" A.J pressed his advantage. Sandshrew took a smile 'dive' to the floor and quickly burrowed himself underground.

"Get ready to dodge Pikachu!" Ash warned Pikachu. Pikachu nodded and readied himself to move at a moments notice.

A.J smirked, "Sand Tomb! Get that Pikachu!" Suddenly, the ground beneath Pikachu's feet gave way. Pikachu cried out in panic and tried to grab onto the edge of the sand pit that had suddenly formed in the center of battlefield but wasn't able to and started to slide in to the center of the sand pit, where Sandshrew was waiting for the right moment to strike.

A.J's eyes narrowed, "Use Rock Smash!" Sandshrew rushed forwards, the slippery sand not bothering his momentum or balance one bit. Sandshrew clenched his claws, a fierce orange glow covering his right arm as he readied Rock Smash. Pikachu tried to regain his balance and turned towards Sandshrew in an attempt to meet Sandshrew head on, only to receive a Rock Smash enhanced blow to stomach. Pikachu went flying out of the sand pit, his mouth open in a wordless scream of pain, the blow to the stomach having deprived him of the air needed to scream.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out in concern.

Pikachu smashed into the ground in front of Ash. His eyes turned to swirls, the damage just being to much. Ash sighed and walked into the field, Riolu by his side as he picked up and cradled Pikachu in his arms. He turned around and made his way back to his side, Riolu followed him while shooting concerned glances at Pikachu.

"Pi...ka... _(That… hurt…)_." Pikachu wheezed, coming around a bit.

"You all right buddy?" Ash asked, concern shining through his eyes as he looked at Pikachu.

"Pi. _(I'm fine)_." Pikachu mumbled as he scampered up Ash's arm and took his ever so trusty place on his trainer's shoulder.

_"You sure?" _Riolu asked.

Pikachu nodded, "Pi. _(I'm fine)_." He repeated and then he gave a sharp look at Riolu, "Pikapi! _(And you better beat that Sandshrew! I didn't bust my ass to defeat that Magmar and fighting that Sandshrew so to you could get defeated and we'd ultimately lose in the end)_!"

Riolu smirked, _"I've no intentions of losing, Pikachu. I'm going to kick that Sandshrew's ass."_

Pikachu smirked right back, "Pi. _(Good)_." He said simply.

Ash chuckled, "Riolu, it's your turn." Riolu grinned and bounded into the battlefield.

A.J frowned at seeing Riolu, seeing that he didn't recognize the Pokémon he was about the battle. He didn't even know what Type it was! His frown deepened, _'I'll have to be careful. I've got no idea what that Pokémon, that Riolu, is capable of.' _He thought.

This time Ash decided to start things of, "Riolu! Use Force Palm!" Riolu rushed forwards at incredible speed, his right palm raised and shining brightly with Force Palm.

"Quick, use Swift to halt Riolu's attack!" A.J commanded, specifically chosing an attack that can't be dodged no matter what to accomplish the task. Sandshrew opened his mouth and fired a long beam made up of golden sparkling stars of energy as he used Swift.

Ash knew this all to well, evident from the fact that he immediately switched tactics, "Use your Aura to defend yourself Riolu!"

Within mere moments that Ash had given the command the star-like projectiles of Swift closed in on Riolu's location and smashed into him, triggering a small explosion with each star-shaped projectile that smashed into Riolu, covering his surroundings in smoke and hiding the Emanation Pokémon from sight.

A.J grinned confidently, thinking he just got a leg-up on his opponent. His grin faltered moments later as he spotted the blue glow emanating from the dust cloud Riolu was hidden in. His grin completely slid of his face when the dust cloud cleared, revealing Riolu who held his arms outstretched, the palms of his paws facing forwards from which a dark blue see through shield made from his own Aura was being projected. The shield collapsed moments later, having done it's job.

Ash smirked, "Not a bad attempt but your attacks will do nothing against Riolu's defences." He taunted his opponent.

"We'll just see about that! Get in close with Scratch Sandshrew!" A.J commanded quickly. Sandshrew rushed forwards, his claws lengthening and glowing a fierce white as he readied his Scratch attack.

Ash countered immediately, "Use Circle Throw!" Riolu readied himself, planting his feeth firmly into the ground and raising his arms at the ready as he watched Sandshrew close in at impressive speed. Sandshrew lunged forwards, his claws empowered by Scratch singing for Riolu's face. Riolu sidestepped, making Sandshrew miss his attack. Sandshrew flew besides Riolu as he missed his attack. Riolu grabbed Sandshrew's outstretched arm, using the leverage to swing the sand mouse around and flung Sandshrew with a scream back to where he had come from, "And now follow it up with Aura Sphere!" Riolu cupped his paws, forming the azure sphere of concentrated Aura in between them before flinging it at Sandshrew who he had just sent flying with Circle Throw. The Aura Sphere smashed into Sandshrew's body, exploding mightily and increasing the force that Sandshrew was sent flying out of the battlefield and into the surrounding wooden fence ten-fold. Sandshrew fell bonelessly to the ground as he cried out in pain.

"Get up Sandshrew! There's no way where losing now! Not while we're finally so close to reaching our goal! Please, get up Sandshrew!" A.J shouted his pleas to his starter. Sandshrew's eyes snapped open and he immediatly sprung into a standing position. Sandshrew quickly ran back onto the battlefield, facing Riolu once more.

Ash and Riolu smirked. They looked, if anything, even more excited than before at seeing their opponents determination to win. Pikachu was intently focusing on the battle, mentally rooting for his beloved trainer and Riolu. Behind them Brock and Misty where watching the match with the same intensity, being completely enraptured by the intense battling and clash of will's of the two trainers and their Pokémon.

"Now that's what I like to hear! Riolu, let's take this up a notch! Quick-Attack into Force Palm!" Riolu nodded and obeyed immediately. He rocketed forwards, leaving a white trail of light behind him as he used Quick-Attack. His right palm was raised and shined brightly with Force Palm.

"Counter it with Rapid Spin!" A.J dictatated. Sandshrew curled himself into a tiny ball before he started spinning on his side rapidly. Then he rocketed forwards, aiming to meet Riolu head on.

Riolu and Sandshrew met each other dead center of the battlefield, their respective attacks colliding and triggering an explosion. Both Pokémon came sliding back out of the resulting smoke cloud.

"And now use Poison Sting!" A.J followed up quickly. Sandshrew opened his mouth and spat out a hail of bright purple needles at Riolu.

"Aura-Shield!" Ash countered. Riolu threw his arms forwards, the palms of his paws facing the incoming Poison Sting attack. The dark blue see through shield made from his Aura reappeared. The poisoned needles smashed into the shield, shattering uselessly on impact. A.J growled. Ash smirked.

_'That didn't work. Time to change tactics.' _A.J thought, before ordering his next move, "Use Dig!" Sandshrew dove to the ground and burrowed himself underground in an instant.

"Get ready to dodge Riolu!" Ash shouted. Riolu readied himself. He closed his eyes as he activated his Aura sight and used his Aura to track Sandshrew's movements underground. Mere moments before Sandshrew would have struck Riolu from underground the Emanation Pokémon jumped back, making Sandshrew miss his attack as he exploded upwards from the ground where Riolu had just stood.

"Aura Sphere!" Ash went on the offensive. Riolu cupped his paws and formed his most powerful attack once again. Once he was done charging it he flung it Sandshrew who was still in mid-air.

"Defend yourself with Rapid Spin!" A.J commanded frantically. Still in mid-air after his missed Dig attack Sandshrew curled himself up into a tiny ball before rapidly spinning on his side. The Aura Sphere struck the rapidly spinning body of Sandshrew and detonated against it, making a smoke cloud. The still curled up form of Sandshrew came flying out of the smoke cloud before he uncurled himself and landed on his feet, sliding to a stop in front of his trainer, showing that he was fine.

Ash frowned, _'Well, I knew that Sandshrew's have incredible defences and endurance. The fact that Sandshrew already took a couple of Riolu's attacks and that he just was struck with an Aura Sphere but doesn't look worse for wear proves it. I need to hit him hard and fast If I want to knock him out and win.'_

While Ash was pondering on how he was going to take out Sandshrew A.J had formulated a strategy to defeat Riolu, "Sandshrew! Use Sandstorm!" Sandshrew curled himself into a little ball as his body started to shine a multicoloured glow. He rapidly spun on his place, kicking up a ferocious Sandstorm that covered the battlefield in a second or two. Riolu grimaced as the sandstone particles buffeted him and sapped at his strength. He and Ash closed their eyes and activated their Aura sight in order to be able to see in the Sandstorm.

"And now get in close and use Fury Cutter!" A.J commanded briskly. Sandshrew rushed forwards at the stationary figure of Riolu inside the Sandstorm, his claws glowing a ferocious red and lengthening to twice their original size.

To both Ash's and Riolu's shock Sandshrew appeared in front of Riolu within a blink of eye and started hacking wildly at Riolu with his empowered claws. Riolu had only just managed to bring his arms up to protect his body. Even still, every blow that Sandshrew landed made him slide back a bit thanks to the very power behind it.

_"Crap! This Sandshrew has the Sand Rush ability which doubles if not triples his speed in a Sandstorm!" _Riolu telephated his realization to Ash. He grimaced as the combined damage of the continues Fury Cutter attacks on his body and the Sandstorm that was steadily sapping at his strength started to take it's toll on him.

"Redirect his attack with Aura-Shield and then attack with Force Palm!" Ash countered quickly. Just as Sandshrew slashed out with the claws on his right arm Riolu threw his left arm forwards from which a smaller than normal slightly curved Aura-Shield formed. Sandshrew's Fury Swipes enhanced claw made contact with the shield and ricocheted of, making Sandshrew lose his balance and breaking his offensive momentum, which left him wide open for Riolu's counter attack. Riolu's fiercely glowing palm slammed into Sandshrew's stomach before the energy of Force Palm detonated outwards, flinging Sandshrew back with a cry of pain.

"You can take it Sandshrew! Get back in their with Slash!" A.J continued on defiantly. Sandshrew twisted in mid-air and landed firmly on his feet before blasting of back towards Riolu, the claws in his right arm emanating a glow of white and tripling their length.

"Counter it with Circle Throw!" Ash commanded. Riolu narrowed his blood-red eyes and used his Aura to predict how Sandshrew was going to attack. With incredible speed Sandshrew closed the distance between himself and Riolu and brought his Slash enhanced claws to bear on the Emanation Pokémon. The thrice lengthened claws swung down on Riolu, who had his eyes closed. At the last possible moment Riolu sidestepped the Slash empowered claws, who instead of cutting into him carved three long gashes into the earth. In one fluid motion Riolu grabbed Sandshrew, savagely swung him around and then flung the Sandshrew skywards with a scream.

Sandshrew flew incredibly high into the air, exiting the still roaring Sandstorm and into the harsh sun light of the day. A.J smirked as the situation now presented the perfect opportunity to use his ace in the hole, the most powerful attack he had come up with and only Sandshrew could use, "Now Sandshrew! Use Fissure Strike!"

Ash's eyes narrowed, _'Fissure Strike? What kind of attack is that?' _He thought, before calling out to Riolu, "Get ready Riolu!" Riolu nodded and followed Sandshrew's movements in the sky, seeing that the Sandstorm was still raging around him and he couldn't see Sandshrew with his eyes as a result.

Sandshrew angled his body so that he fell towards the ground in a free fall, falling head first to the ground. Sandshrew held his left arm outstretched and pointed his claws towards the ground. He started spinning rapidly as the speed he was falling to the ground increased, "Go Sandshrew! Make the ground tremble and split!" A.J encouraged his Sandshrew.

Sandshrew entered the Sandstorm and immediately disrupted the roaring cloud of sand and stone thanks to his rapid spinning, slowing it down in seconds and halting it even before he even reached the ground.

But when he reached the ground, though, all hell broke loose.

With nary a tremble Sandshrew's claws pierced into the soil. Everything was silent but for a moment, a heartbeat of silence, and then suddenly there was an ominous sounding rumble.

_"I have a bad feeling about this.__"_ Riolu informed Ash nervously through his Aura.

Suddenly and with great speed the battlefield trembled and split down the middle, opening up a massive chasm that grew incredibly fast and headed straight for Riolu.

Riolu gasped in shock and a little fear at witnessing the awe-inspiring attack. Just as he was about to jump on instinct in order to evade the attack the ground under him gave way. With another gasp of shock he fell down towards the dark gullet of the chasm, which would be a very painful fall if he fell down the entire way.

"Riolu!" The Emanation Pokémon heard his trainers concerned exclamation.

Riolu grabbed the side of the chasm wall, wincing as he continued falling and the rocks of the wall cut into the palms of his paws as he desperately sought to hold on. He came to a stop a moment or two later, panting heavily and wincing in pain. He planted his feet against the chasm wall and jumped, launching himself into the air and towards the other side of the chasm. He bounced of the chasm wall again and soured even higher. He continued bouncing of off the chasm wall coming closer and closer to the surface.

A.J wasn't going to allow him to reach safety, though, "Quick Sandshrew! Use Hidden Power to cave in the chasm's walls!" Sandshrew quickly generated the white energy spheres of Hidden Power and launched two tightly clustered swats of them at each one of the chasm walls. The Hidden Power attack struck dead on, starting a cave in immediatly. Boulders three times the Emanation Pokémon's size fell down into the chasm, heading straight for Riolu.

Riolu and Ash both gasped at the move. Before Ash and Riolu where able to do anything the boulders descended on Riolu and smashed into him, sending him rocketing down back into the chasm, that quickly filled up with rocks as the chasm walls completely collapsed, burying Riolu deep into the earth.

Ash watched this in mute shock. This...this...this couldn't be happening. Had he just lost? A jolt of fear rippled through him as something far more important than winning or losing became clear to him. The safety and condition of his beloved starter, "Riolu!" Ash cried out in fear and concern for his best friend. He closed his eyes as he focused his Aura, desperately searching for Riolu's Aura beneath the rubble.

A.J smirked, "It seems I've won, Ash. You've been the greatest challenge I've ever had. You even nearly beat me. You, as a fellow trainer, have earned my respect." He noted Ash's deeply concerned expression and looked at the rubble under which Riolu had been buried, "Now, Sandshrew, use Dig to get Riolu back to the surface. we can't just lea-" A.J's order got interrupted as a powerful tremble rumbled through the ground, nearly making him lose his balance. A.J's and Sandshrew's eyes widened.

On the other side of the battlefield Ash's eyes shot wide open, sensing the massive build up of extremely concentrated Aura deep beneath the earth. The Aura of his starter was building up and...rising towards surface. His eyes landed on the rubble filling the chasm Sandshrew had made. The rubble rumbled, the rocks shifting position thanks to some unseen force as blue light filtered through the cracks in the rubble. Suddenly the entire arena started to tremble fiercely, as if a miniature earthquake was striking the area, making everyone fight to keep their balance. The light filtering through the cracks in the rubble suddenly tripled in brightness.

"Wha...what's h-happening?!" Misty said as she nearly fell to the ground, her voice trembling a little in fear.

"I thin-n-nk Rio-l-lu is doi-n-ng som-e-ethi-n-ng." Brock said as he fought to keep his balance.

Suddenly and with a great explosion the rubble filling the chasm was blasted upwards and outwards. Riolu flew up into the air and far out of the chasm, his body littered with injuries. Bruises, scrapes and ugly looking dark purple bruises covered his badly injured body. He was even bleeding from a few deep cuts on his body. But judging from the fierce look in his eyes he was far from going down.

But none of those things where really registering to the people looking at Riolu. No, their attention was focused on the fiery blue energy that enveloped him, his blazing Aura withering and coiling all around his form.

Ash, while extremely shocked, wasn't going to dawdle and didn't hesitate, "Riolu! Use Aura Sphere! Full power!" With a roar Riolu cupped his paws and started forming the most powerful Aura Sphere he had ever made. Increasing it's size far past that of it's norm, until it was twice the size of his own body. Riolu brought the Aura Sphere above his head before flinging it with both his paws downwards at Sandshrew.

Sandshrew, who had been so shocked by the spactacular reemergence of Riolu that he could do nothing but look on in shock, snapped into movement as he saw Riolu fling the absolutely massive Aura Sphere right at him, but it was by far to late to dodge. Sandshrew managed to jump back, but the Aura Sphere struck the ground right in front of him, detonating immediately in a brilliant gigantic fire ball that enveloped him in seconds. The ground cratered violently, utterly wrecking the already heavily damaged battlefield. The accompanying shockwave blasted the heavily burned Sandshrew out of battlefield and right back into the wooden wall. Sandshrew didn't even cry out in pain, he simply fell back to the ground like a puppet with it's strings cut.

Ash had won.

"Sandshrew!" A.J cried out. He jumped down from the raised battlefield and raced towards his beloved Pokémon.

Riolu landed on the destroyed battlefield, a deeply satisfied and content look on his face as he finished the battle in his favor. He took a deep breath and released it. The fiery blue of his Aura that was coiling around him dimmed and faded after a few moments.

Then he stumbled, falling to a knee as he lost his balance thanks to his multiple and numerous injuries. He started falling backwards and would have fallen into the cold earth, if he hadn't been caught. Just as Riolu was about to collapse, Ash had rushed forwards and had caught Riolu, and to the Emanation Pokémon's surprise, his head landed in a soft cushion. He weakly looked up and saw that Ash had caught him in his arms, "Thanks…Ash," Riolu said weakly as Ash picked him up.

"You where awesome buddy. Just rest for now." Ash murmured to his starter. Riolu smiled and closed his eyes, and fell asleep almost immediately. Ash straightened up, cradling Riolu in his arms and with Pikachu on his shoulder, who was shooting concerned glances at Riolu.

Meanwhile, A.J had picked up Sandshrew and thanked him for his efforts even if Sandshrew was unconscious and couldn't hear him before returning him to his Pokéball. A.J sighed and made his way back to Ash, "Ash!" He called out to him, getting Ash's attention, "That was the greatest battle I've ever had. Despite the fact that I've lost and won't be able to complete my win-streak I'm happy to have battled and lost to someone like you." He held out his hand. Ash took it and shook it firmly, taking extra care not to accidentally drop Riolu. A.J smiled at him, "Just so you know I'm still setting out to collect Badges and to compete in the Pokémon League. If I can give someone like you a run for your money I'm sure I'm more then ready to compete in the big leagues."

Ash smiled, "Good. I'm already looking forwards to battling you again in the big leagues. I'll see you at the Pokémon League, A.J. Right now I've got to get Riolu and Pikachu checked out at a Pokémon Center."

Brock already had his map out, "According to this there is a Pokémon Center down the road, only twenty minutes walk out."

A.J nodded, "I know, it's one of the reasons I've set op shop here. Go ahead, I'll just get my stuff and Pokémon and catch up to you guys at the Pokémon Center. Magmar and Sandshrew also need some healing."

Misty smiled at the youth, "You're a really good trainer, A.J. The way you take care of your Pokémon and how strong they are prove that without a doubt." A.J nodded and smiled at Misty for the compliment.

A groan from Riolu cut through the moment. Ash frowned, "We better get going. See ya later, A.J." Ash turned on his heel, his friends following him and immediately setting out for the nearest Pokémon Center.

As they walked away A,J called out to them, "Goodbye! I hope to battle you soon again Ash!" The trio waved over their shoulders at A.J before disappearing from the Savage Trainers sight.

Ash and A.J would never know but they both smirked at the same time and had the exact same thoughts as they parted ways that day. _'If I can battle and meet such strong trainers so early on in my journey, what more is waiting out there for me?__' _Both youths smirked at the same time, _'This is what I always wanted, the chance to prove myself and to become the very best!'_

* * *

**A/N: Chapter twelve is done and finished! I hope you liked the battle and my take on A.J, the Savage Trainer.  
**

**Please Review and do whatever the hell you like afterwards!**

**Your dearest,**

**Theblazinghope2235.**


	13. Chapter 13: Strengthening Your Team

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

"Speech"

"_(PokeSpeech)_"

_'Thoughts'_

_"Telepathy"_

And here is chapter 13, finally! I finally finished my last test last Friday, I made it by the way, and quickly got back to my writing.

You guys have been so great and patient. Thank you for all the great reviews

And here's the next chapter.

* * *

Ash sighed, "This is annoying!" He complained.

Misty, Brock and even his own Pokémon rolled their eyes at him, "Oh, suck it up!" They all said in eerie synchronization. Then they looked at each other, surprised, before bursting out laughing. Ash groaned.

Riolu smirked as he leaned back on Ash's shoulder, _"Oh, come on Ash. It's only fog. Besides, with your Aura sight you can see right through it anyway."_

All around the gang was a fine white fog that blocked out the world. It had suddenly come up without any notice as the group continued on tracking to Vermillion City and to Ash's third Gym match.

Ash snorted, "It's annoying to keep it active for a long period of time Riolu, you know that. The strain makes my head spin. And on top of that we're lost because of this damn fog!"

Pikachu snickered from Ash's other shoulder. He cocked his head at Ash, his long ears swishing with the movement, "Pika _(And who's fault is that? If you had activated your Aura sight the moment the fog came setting in we wouldn't have lost track of the road and wandered into the woods in the first place)_."

Ash remained silent, refusing to rise to the electric mouse's baiting. Pikachu snickered again, knowing perfectly well what was going through his trainers mind.

Brock peered into the fog and suddenly spotted something, "Wait! Look up there. There's light." He said as he pointed into the distance where indeed a bright white light shone through the fog.

"It could be a house. Maybe we stumbled onto a village or something." Misty suggested, excited at the idea of getting to some place warm.

Ash immediately activated his Aura sight. The fog was replaced with a clear blue image of the world. Curiously, the light in the distance wasn't a house or a building at all, but was a lantern that was being held up by a boy. This boy wasn't alone. He stood with a small group of four other boys that wore the same school uniform as he did and surrounded another boy that also wore the same school uniform and was to Ash's confusion running on a treadmill.

The boy on the treadmill had a boyish face and kind black eyes with brown wavy hair.

As Ash and his friends walked closer to the odd group they started making out what the school boys where saying.

"What's the name of this one?" One of the school boys with red hair asked as he held up a photo of a Pidgey.

"Is it a Zubat?" The boy running on the treadmill said hesitantly.

"Listen, just because it's foggy out here doesn't mean your brain should be up in the clouds." The green-haired boy holding up the lantern said snidely.

The boy on the treadmill looked down in thought for a moment, gnawing on his lip, before speaking up, "It's a Pidgey."

"Nice guess, you just got lucky." The one holding up the picture said with a touch of scorn.

"And now tell us with it's Special Attack is." The boy holding the lantern asked the next question.

"Pidgey's signature attack is Gust. At level five it learns Sand-Attack, at level twelve-" The boy on the treadmill answered through his heavy breathing but was interrupted.

"Everybody knows that." Another boy with red hair cut in, "Now, can just tell me at which level Pidgey evolves and what's the name of Pidgey's advanced state?"

"Hmm…" The boy on the treadmill closed his eyes in thought as he frantically tried to think up the answer to the question.

"You better come up with answer quickly or you'll have to run faster!" Yet another boy taunted.

The boy on the treadmill looked uncertainly at the boys surrounding him who looked back at him with pointed and expectant looks. Suddenly, the boy slipped and fell down, tumbling of off the treadmill and falling to the ground.

"I'm sorry, I forgot." The boy said as he dragged himself into a kneeling position.

The boys around him sighed in disappointment. The red-haired boy stepped forwards, glaring down at the fallen boy, "You forgot, huh. And you call yourself a Pokémon Tech Student." The boy sneered down at his fellow student, "We don't want to study with the likes of you."

"I'm sorry…" The fallen boy mumbled as he bowed his head in shame.

"Hey, what the hell is going on here!" All the students looked up, surprised at the shout. Ash, Misty and Brock emerged from the fog and glared at the group of students surrounding the kneeling boy.

"There's nothing going on here, mind your own business. This is a private training session." The red-haired boy said snidely.

"There's no room in our Pokémon School for losers who don't even know the name of Pidgey's advanced stage. We have to maintain standards." The green-haired boy followed up, glaring as Ash helped the fallen student back up to his feet.

"I don't know about this school of yours but if it's producing students like you I have to say it's standards are pretty low." Ash countered after he had dragged the fallen student back up on his feet.

"That's right Ash, you tell him." Misty said in support, "You better stop bullying that kid or you'll have to answer to us, right Brock?" Brock nodded, directing a fierce glare at the students.

The red-haired boy snorted, "We only answer to our teachers and certainly not to a pair of rookie trainers like you guys." His friends nodded in agreement, all smirking at Ash and his friends.

Brock snorted, "Your dumber than I thought. Calling the former Pewter City Gym leader and the Cerulean City Gym leader and the kid who beat them in a Pokémon battle rookies…" Brock shook his head.

All the boys got tick marks, "Heh, if a ten-year old could beat you two then you two must be extremely weak for Gym leaders." The green-haired one said, anger lacing his voice as he glared at Brock.

Riolu chuckled, _"My trainer is far from a normal ten-year old."_

All the students froze, looking wide eyed at Riolu.

Ash sighed, _"You enjoy doing that way to much."_ Ash whispered into Riolu's mind through his Aura.

_"I know." _Riolu whispered back glibly.

The red-haired one opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before he reasserted control over himself, "D-did that Pokémon just _talk_!?"

"Yes, Riolu is capable of mental communication thanks through his Aura abilities. I know, it's something special but we where discussing more important things. Like your guys and your school's supreme stupidity." Ash cut in before they got to of track.

All the students, even the one that Ash was defending, glared at Ash for the insult.

"Heh, I bet you won't be talking so tough if you where to face of against our class's most powerful trainer. She'll crush you like a bug." The green-haired student said, directing a heart stopping glare at Ash. Then he smirked, "As a matter of fact, I challenge you to take her on."

"I accept, if for no other reason to teach you morons a lesson." Ash said, "Where do you want to do this?"

"At our school of course, Giselle is there probably brushing up on her studies." The red-haired one said snidely, "Come guys. Let's go inform Giselle of these morons and the _challenge_," The student said in obvious sarcasm, "They've issued to her. Joe, you'll lead them to the Tech School. We'll go ahead."

The five students turned around and disappeared into the fog without saying another word, leaving the now named Joe behind with Ash and the rest.

"Who do those guys think they are?" Misty spook up, shaking her head, "Bullying another person like that…"

"So those are the infamous Tech Students." Brock said more to himself then anything else.

"Tech Students?" Ash asked.

"Pokémon Tech. I think it's short for Pokémon Technical, a school for Pokémon trainers. I know I had a flyer here somewhere." Misty said as her hand snaked into one of her pockets. A moment later she took out a crumpled up flyer. She straightened it and held it out for Ash to see, "Yeah, here it is."

"A Pokémon School in the middle of nowhere?" Ash asked curiously as he looked at the flyer.

Brock took the flyer from Misty's hands, "Let's see what it says here about this place." Brock read the advertisement on the flyer out loud, "Pokémon Technical Institute, a boarding school for serious Pokémon trainer preparation. All students are guaranteed to enter the Pokémon League on graduation. Pokémon Technical is the educational facility for exceptional students who want to become Pokémon trainers in a very short time without having to travel on difficult Badge collecting journeys."

"Huh, so that's the story." Brock said as he finished reading the flyer.

"Getting into the Pokémon League without Badges is too easy." Ash exclaimed in outrage. Pikachu and Riolu nodded in agreement.

"Wait there's more." Brock said as he looked back down at the flyer in his hands, "Student entrance fees and tuition are in keeping with the highest standards set by Pokémon Technical."

Misty looked at Ash, "You know what _that_ means right? It's one of those snobby private schools that only millionaire's kids can go to."

Ash's eyebrow twitched, "So these kids think they're better than everyone else because their parents are rich. Where is this place? It's time to teach these kids a lesson in hard work."

"It's right there." Joe suddenly spook up as he pointed into the distance.

Suddenly, the fog lifted, revealing the grand school building that was maybe a hundred feet away from them. Harsh sun light slammed into them from above and the pervious slightly chilly temperature rose a comfortable few degrees.

The gang looked wide eyed at the sudden appearance of the school. Their eyes widened even further as a clear female voice echoed out over the school yard, "Today's special class, fog battle techniques, has now ended. Tomorrows lesson will be snow competition secrets."

Joe sighed in dismay, "Oh well, tomorrow they will make me into a snowman again." He mumbled.

Ash's eyes snapped towards Joe, "Do they treat you like that _ALL _the time!?" Ash said, beyond outraged now.

"My friends are just trying to help me." Joe mumbled.

"You call them friends!?" Ash said incredulously.

"With friends like that who needs enemies." Brock said, agreeing with Ash.

"But they help me learn that Pidgey evolves into Pidgeotto at level 18 and learns Whirlwind al level 21 and Wing Attack at level 31. As it levels rises it learns various tricks and after evolving into Pidgeot it can fly at 12000 meters at speeds up to mach two." Joe rattled of from memory in a blink of an eye.

"I don't get it." Ash said, "If you know everything about Pidgey why didn't you answer them just now?"

"Sometimes a pretend I don't know all the answers 'cause otherwise they'll make the questions that much harder but I have to stay here in Pokémon Tech. My mother and father spent a lot of money to send me here." Joe said, before looking of towards the side, "You see that guy over there?" The group looked where Joe was looking and saw a 16 year old boy sitting under a tree reading from a text book," He's an upper class man. The classes are so hard here that some students are held back for _many _years. Everybody is too ashamed to go home without getting a diploma. That guy is in the beginner's class with me."

Joe paused in his explanation to take a breath before continuing, "Beginner's have the same qualifications as someone with two Badges. The intermediate classes have the qualifications of four and advanced students have the same qualification as trainers with six Badges. If you graduate you'll be able to enter the Pokémon League without having to travel around to collect the Badges. That guy is a beginner but he is so much older than anyone else in the class the kids don't bother to help him like they help me."

Ash felt pity for the 16 year old. Being held back for so many years that all the people out of your age group have long since left you behind. That's just terrible.

"What do the teachers say about that kind of help?" Misty questioned.

"They don't even know about it and if they do they pretend not to." Joe answered.

"Really? That's just terrible. Are students really capable of learning and thriving in this school?" Ash asked, looking sharply at Joe.

"Sure. The top student in my class Giselle who you'll be fighting later is doing so well that's she has been given the choice to advance to the intermediate classes. She hasn't made a choice yet but she'll most likely skip year." Joe said as he took out a picture of Giselle and showed it to them. On the picture was pretty 13 year old girl with silky black hair that fell down her back.

"She's pretty." Brock said wistfully as he drooled at the picture. Misty got a tick mark and clocked him in the back of his head.

Misty narrowed her eyes at Joe, "Why do you carry a picture of her around?"

"Because I like the way she looks." Joe answered with a shrug.

Ash sweatdropped, _'He must have entered puberty early.' _He thought and quickly mentally cut himself of before his thoughts went down south.

"She's _so _pretty." Brock mumbled as he continued looking at the picture. Misty lost her temper.

"OH FOR ARCEUS SAKE! STOP DROOLING AT THE DAMN PICTURE!" Misty roared in Brock's face. The former Gym leader recoiled back in fear of an enraged Misty, the picture completely forgotten.

"Come on Ash. Let's go find this Giselle and show these morons what it means to be a true trainer." Misty said. She grabbed Ash by the wrist and started dragging the protesting boy towards the school.

"Hey, wait up!" Brock said before running after them. Joe sighed and followed them, he still needed to bring them to the school's arena after all. He was sure that Giselle was all ready waiting for them.

Joe quickly caught up to the gang and steered them around the school, leading them to an attached out building situated right next to an outside water battlefield. The group entered the building and Joe's earlier thoughts were proven correct when he spotted Giselle already waiting at one end of the indoor battlefield. The group of students that had been bullying Joe earlier stood behind Giselle, all smirking at them.

Ash stepped forwards with Riolu and Pikachu on his shoulders and levelled a piercing stare at the pretty 13 year old, "Are you Giselle?"

Giselle gave him a look that made clear that she though he was far beneath her notice, "Yes, I'm Giselle. The top student of the beginner class. It's too bad not everyone could have my beauty, my talent and my humble attitude. People call me a movie star, but I'm just Giselle." Giselle smirked at him, expecting him to be impressed by her spiel.

Ash simply looked at her, giving nothing away. On the inside he glowered at her arrogant attitude, "You are maybe some of the things you just said but you certainly aren't humble. And you may be the top student of you class but being the top student in a class full of morons who put more fate behind knowledge then actual experience is nothing to be proud of." Ash said, trying to get a rise out of her.

The boys behind Giselle glared at him for the insult. Giselle's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as the smile on her face turned strained. She glowered at him, "I see that you will not listen to my voice of reason. It seems I will have to beat the lesson into you that one doesn't go around messing with Tech Students. A battle, now. Two on two. Everything goes."

"I accept." Ash said, his voice perfectly even. Riolu and Pikachu smirked at Giselle, eager to do battle.

Surprisingly Giselle's eyes trailed towards Joe who was trying and failing to hide from her gaze behind Ash. Giselle sneered at Joe, "Oh, and what do we have here? The runt of the class trying to hide from me. Did you bring these losers here because you're scared? You're an embarrassment to the whole school."

"B-but Giselle." Joe spluttered in turn, tears gathering in his eyes.

_'She may look as beautiful as a movie star but her attitude needs a lot of work.'_ Brock thought as his eyes focused on Giselle.

Giselle continued, heedless of the tearful look she was getting from Joe, "I want to continue to help my classmates be the very best they can be." Giselle placed a hand over her heart as she closed her eyes, "To teach each other, to respect each other and to help each other." Her eyes snapped open, revealing two glaring black orbs that practically sneered at Joe, "But you're a weakling."

Joe recoiled as if slapped. Ash and his Pokémon glowered at Giselle. All three where contemplating if they would get in trouble if they taught Giselle a lesson, a very _physical _lesson.

"You better get stronger fast or before you know it your fellow students will turn their backs on you for good." Giselle said harshly. She averted her eyes from Joe as if in disgust

Joe trembled from behind Ash, on the verge of tears. He bit his lip and clenched his fists as he tried to keep from crying.

"That goes far enough!" Ash hollered at Giselle who looked back at him without a trace of regret, "You! Me! Battle! Now! I'll show you how weak you really are compared to real trainers!"

Giselle smirked at him, "Well, what are you waiting for? Take your place and I'll show you the difference between a Tech Student and normal folk like you." She sneered at Ash, "We'll battle two on two. Everything goes."

Ash directed one last sneer at Giselle before quickly heading towards the other end of the battlefield, taking his place in the trainer's box. His face turned impassive as he entered battle mode, looking blankly at Giselle across the indoor battlefield.

Giselle grabbed a Pokéball not at all faced by Ash's blank look. Giselle gave another smirk as she threw her Pokéball, "Come on out, Cubone!" In a white flash of light a Cubone appeared on the battlefield.

"Cu Cu Cubone! _(Battle battle battle time)_!" Cubone said rapidly, it's voice a high female tone.

Ash looked at Cubone, noting that it looked quite a bit stronger then the average Pokémon around these parts but didn't come anywhere close to the monsters that A.J possessed. He took out his Pokédex and pointed it at the Cubone, "A Ground-type Pokémon, Cubone. Cubone has earned it's classification as the Lonely Pokémon from it's usual attitude of caring only for itself."

_'A Ground-Type. Pikachu is out and I want to keep Riolu as my ace. That only leaves Pidgeotto. I really need to catch some more Pokémon. I hope that the egg I got from professor Oak hatches soon.'_ Ash thought idly as he grabbed Pidgeotto's Pokéball. He released the Flying-Type in a blaze of white light who chirped as she prepared herself to do battle.

Giselle looked confident as she calmly took in her opponent, _'Using a Flying-Type against a Ground-Type. He at least has some brains to go with that bravado of his.'_ She narrowed her eyes at Pidgeotto, _'Most Ground-Type moves won't work. In that case I'll simply bring out a little surprise.'_

Giselle quickly snapped out her order, "Cubone! Use Ice Beam!" Cubone nodded and tilted her bone covered head up to Pidgeotto and took a deep breath, an orb of freezing energy formed in front of where her mouth would be if it wasn't covered by the skull on her head. She then released three icy-blue zigzagging beams upwards at Pidgeotto.

"Counter it with Air Slash!" Ash snapped back. Pidgeotto nodded and flapped her wings with a lot of force, creating two razor-sharp white wind blades. The wind blades collided with the incoming Ice Beam with a lot of force, causing both attacks to halt for a brief moment. Then the wind blades sliced into the Ice Beam, cutting the beam in two, and continued on at Cubone.

"Dodge it and then use Bonemerang!" Giselle ordered quickly. Cubone cut off her Ice Beam and jumped back just fast enough to evade the wind blades of Air Slash. The wind blades sliced into the ground Cubone had just stood on and detonated, violently cratering the ground. Cubone reared back her bone wielding arm, took aim, and flung the bone at Pidgeotto. The bone spun rapidly and came at Pidgeotto at a sharp angle.

"Dodge it and the use Aerial Ace!" Ash ordered. Pidgeotto gave a hard flap with her wings, bolting upwards mere seconds before Cubone's bone would have struck her, evading the attack. Pidgeotto dove into a steep dive, speeding up immensely as the wind blades of Aerial Ace appeared around her form. She pulled up mere moments before she would have crashed into the ground and sped head on at Cubone with her Aerial Ace attack.

"Pidgeotto, behind you!" Pidgeotto glanced behind her at her trainers warning, spotting the incoming rapidly spinning bone that had come around for a second pas. Pidgeotto swerved to the right, evading the attack by the skin of her teeth.

Cubone caught her weapon of bone, the weapon smacking into her open palm, "Use Bone Club!" Giselle ordered, seeing that Pidgeotto was to close to dodge. Cubone sprang forwards, her bone wielding arm reared back for a mighty swing. Cubone grasped her bone with both hands as she brought it over her head and swung it down at Pidgeotto. With a mighty crash and an explosion of energy the Bone Club attack and the Aerial Ace met.

Cubone was sent flying back, crashing harshly into the ground while Pidgeotto calmly hovered in the air, clearly showing that Cubone was the loser of the close range engagement.

Giselle gritted her teeth_, 'That Pidgeotto is tougher then I thought and it's trainer is not half bad either.'_ She admitted. She calmed herself and looked at the match objectively. She sighed as she made her choice, "Cubone, return." She said as she held up Cubone's Pokéball. Cubone was sucked back into the Pokéball.

Everyone who was watching the match observed this move in surprise, not expecting her to do that.

Giselle grabbed another Pokéball. She smirked as she called forth her most powerful Pokémon, "It's your turn, Graveler!" The Rock and Ground-Type appeared in a flash of white light and landed heavily on the ground in front of her, causing a small tremor from the Pokémon's sheer weight.

The evolved form of Geodude smashed it's fist against it's stony chest, eager to do battle.

Ash once again took out his Pokédex and trained it on Graveler, "Graveler, the Rock Pokémon. This Pokémon will climb a mountain from the base to the summit, feasting on rocks all the while. Upon reaching the peak, it rolls back down to the bottom."

Graveler stepped forwards, a deep grin on it's stony face, "Graveler! _(Time to crush another opponent)_!" The Graveler said, it's voice decidedly male.

Ash looked at Graveler and then at Pidgeotto, _'It's a bad match up and that Graveler looks rather strong. I better switch out.'_ "Pidgeotto, return." He said as held up Pidgeotto's Pokéball. Pidgeotto turned into red energy and was sucked back into the Pokéball. Ash smirked at Giselled and chuckled, "Riolu, would you do the honours?" Riolu gave a similar smirk and jumped from his shoulder and landed on the battlefield, ready to face Graveler.

Giselle studied Riolu intently. Unlike most she knew exactly what Riolu was thanks to her intense studies. She knew that this would be a tough match but she had confidence that she would persevere, "Graveler! Use Rock Throw!" She ordered crisply. Graveler cupped his palms, conjuring a large grey boulder with a transparent glow in between his hands, before thrusting his palms forwards, launching the rock directly at Riolu.

"Dodge it and then use Aura Sphere!" Riolu sprang to the side at his trainers command. The rock smashed into the ground where he had just stood. Riolu cupped his paws, forming his favourite and most powerful attack in seconds. The Emanation Pokémon took aim and flung the azure orb at Graveler.

"Hidden Power!" Giselle snapped. Graveler glowed as he generated the white orbs of Hidden Power before launching them straight at the incoming Aura Sphere. The two attacks met and promptly detonated, creating a big smoke cloud.

"Quick-Attack into Force Palm!" Ash continued on, not at all faced by Giselle's rapid counter. Riolu blasted forwards, his speed augmented far past his norm thanks to his Quick-Attack. He appeared in front of the shocked Graveler in a blink of an eye and smashed his wide open glowing palm into Graveler's face. The power of Force Palm detonated outwards, causing Graveler to cry out in pain as he took damage from the super-effective attack and was sent sliding back.

"Don't flinch Graveler and use Rock Polish!" Graveler dug his feet firmly into the ground at Giselle's order, halting his backwards momentum. Graveler pounded his fists together as his rocky body shone for a brief moment, "And now Mega Punch!" Graveler clenched his fist and focused his energy into the appendage, causing white light to envelop it as he readied Mega Punch. Then he bolted forwards, taking full advantage of the speed increase he gained from Rock Polish to close the distance between himself and Riolu.

"Dodge it at the last moment and then use Circle Throw!" Ash ordered crisply. Riolu watched Graveler closely as the Rock Pokémon closed the distance. Graveler reared back his glowing arm and punched at Riolu the moment he came in range. Riolu calmly allowed himself to fall backwards, landing on his back as Graveler's Mega Punch missed it's mark as a result and he over extended and lost his balance. One of Riolu's tiny but powerful legs smashed into Graveler's lower body as Riolu placed the palms of his paws on Graveler's chest. With one powerful heave of his body Riolu sent the extremely heavy Pokémon flying. Graveler tumbled in the air and over the prone form of Riolu. Graveler smashed head first into the ground, crying out in pain as he once again took damage from a super-effective attack.

"Get up Graveler!" Giselle shouted, starting to panic as Ash countered her every move without any apparent effort on his part. Graveler struggled to his feet, wincing in pain, but managed to get back up, "Good. Now use Rock Blast!" Graveler once again cupped his palms, creating a transparent rock in between his hands before launching into a rapid fire attack, launching multiple rocks at Riolu as he used Rock Blast.

"Charge in Riolu!" Ash commanded to the shock of everyone present. Riolu followed the command without hesitation and charged head on at the oncoming attack, "Dodge them all with Quick-Attack and then use Aura Sphere!" Ash followed up on his earlier command. Riolu's speed suddenly tripled as he used Quick-Attack. With lightning reflexes Riolu weaved around the incoming rocks and cupped his paws, forming his Aura Sphere immediately. He jumped over the last rock and descended on Graveler who looked up in surprise only to get hit with a point blank Aura Sphere. The attack detonated on impact and knocked Graveler out. The creature of stone fell over, completely knocked out cold.

"Good job Riolu." Ash said as Riolu landed back on the ground. Riolu grinned and crossed his arms. Pikachu chuckled and leaned back on Ash's shoulder to enjoy the rest of the show.

Giselle recalled Graveler, now seriously starting to panic. This…this…this boy was countering her every move like it was nothing. She had never before dealt with a situation like this before. She had always won her battles, using her stronger than average Pokémon and her superior knowledge and tactics. But Ash, he was literally taking her apart. She had to act fast before Ash ended the battle.

Her fellow students, Joe included, watched in disbelieve as the number one student in their class was being outmatched by what they thought was a rookie trainer.

She grabbed Cubone's Pokéball and released the Lonely Pokémon once more. Giselle hesitated for a brief moment, not sure what to do, before she steeled her resolve, "Cubone, use Bonemerang!" Cubone reared back and flung her bone directly at Riolu.

"Block it!" Ash ordered. Riolu snorted and uncrossed his arms. He contemptuously batted away the bone weapon mere moments before it would have smashed into him, "Quick-Attack!" Ash snapped out the order. Riolu blasted forwards and smashed into the shocked Cubone, sending her flying. The Ground-Type twisted in mid-air and landed on her feet.

"Ice Beam!" Giselle ordered frantically. Cubone took a deep breath, forming the orb of freezing energy in front of her mouth and unleashed an Ice Beam directly at Riolu.

"Counter that with Copy Cat!" Ash ordered calmly. Riolu took a deep look at the execution of the Ice beam and repeated it with the use of Copy Cat. He took a deep breath, also forming the orb of freezing energy in front of his mouth and unleashed an Ice Beam at the incoming Ice-Type attack. The two Ice Beam's smashed into each other, immediately cancelling the other out and creating a pillar of ice in the centre of the battlefield.

Ash smirked, seeing the perfect opportunity to finish the battle, "Riolu, use Aura Sphere on that ice pillar!" Riolu cupped his paws once again and formed an Aura Sphere for the third time this match. He hurled it at the ice pillar. The Aura Sphere smashed into the ice pillar, shattering it and sending chunks of ice flying at Cubone

Giselle's eyes widened in alarm, "Quick Cubone, dodge!" But it was too late. The chunks of ice smashed into Cubone, doing severe damage as Cubone was a Ground-Type. And then if that wasn't bad enough Riolu's Aura Sphere who had survived the impact with the ice pillar smashed into the unsuspecting Cubone. Cubone cried out in pain and went flying into a wall. She fell down, knocked out cold.

Riolu pumped his fist in victory, _"Hell yeah!"_

Ash chuckled, "Good job Riolu. That's showing them what someone with real experience can do."

Pikachu snorted, "Pika. _(Yeah, I mean you can learn as much as you want but without the experience to back it up it's useless)_.

Brock smiled, "Nice match Ash."

Misty nodded, "That was really great."

"Thanks." Ash said. Meanwhile, Riolu had taken his spot again on Ash's shoulder.

Giselle numbly recalled Cubone. She had an expression of disbelieve on her face, an expression that her fellow students behind her mirrored. She had been thoroughly outclassed and trashed by this highly skilled trainer in spite of being older and being at the top of her class.

It was inconceivable to her and to her fellow students that an ordinary trainer could beat her so handily. Was all her work, all her effort and dedication at learning all that the Tech School had to offer worthless in the face of true experience?

Giselle looked down, completely and utterly defeated, "I can't believe I lost."

"What did you expect?" Ash said, gaining Giselle's attention, "You might have a lot of knowledge and decent skills but you lack experience. In the end it's experience that makes the difference between elite trainers and rookies. You simply don't have the needed experience to keep up with me."

Giselle grew pensive as she pondered the Ash's words. Ash turned his attention to the group of students that had been bullying Joe earlier, "And you. Do you guys really think that what you're doing here, bullying other students and studying to be a Pokémon trainer is really going to help you in the long run? You'll be considered rookies for the rest of your lives if you don't go out and gain some experience, Tech Students or not."

The Tech Students didn't respond and didn't dare to look him in the eyes but Ash could see that they where contemplating his words

"Ash." Joe suddenly spook up. The aspiring Aura Guardian turned to look at Joe, "I don't know what to say. I…just…thank you for defending me." He said softly

"Don't sweat it. I'm happy to help." Ash said as he smiled at Joe.

Joe closed his eyes as he came to a decision, "I'm going back home to start from scratch with my first Pokémon just like you have done, Ash. I want to prove to myself and you that I can be a great Pokémon trainer."

"Good luck." Ash said and held out his hand. Joe took it and shook it firmly as he smiled.

Giselle straightened and sighed, "There are something's you just can't learn in school." She admitted, "I'm sorry for being so mean before." She said to both Ash and Joe.

"It's all right." Joe said. Ash simply nodded.

"Ash, it's time we left. We've spent enough time here all ready." Brock said as he checked his watch.

Joe looked at Ash and smiled, "Hey, Ash. Maybe we'll meet in the Pokémon League."

Ash chuckled, "I'd like that Joe."

"Ash." Misty called, standing close by the door as she impatiently tapped her foot.

Ash chuckled again, "Goodbye Joe. See you at the Pokémon League."

"Goodbye." Joe waved them goodbye as Ash and his friends left the building and the Pokémon Technical School behind, continuing on with their journey to Vermilion City.

* * *

The very next day the gang was again early on the move after a hardy breakfast, only there was one problem.

"Admit it Brock! We're lost!" Misty shouted in annoyance, her eyes practically flashing in anger at the former Pewter City Gym leader.

"We aren't lost! I just can't find the road for the moment." Brock said back, his head to far buried in his map to look back at her. Misty only got angrier.

"That's the very definition of lost you moron!" Misty growled, "And if you have forgotten you said the same thing an hour ago! We've been lost in the woods for OVER AN HOUR because you wanted to take a shortcut through the woods instead of keeping on the road!" Misty shouted angrily.

As Brock and Misty continued on arguing Ash could be seen standing behind them with one hand pinching the bridge of his nose and the other rubbing his temple as he tried to nurse away his growing headache. Both Riolu and Pikachu watched on in amusement from their places on Ash's shoulders.

_'Yes, we've been lost for over an hour and they have been arguing for over an hour.'_ Ash thought, aggravated, _'Do neither two know when to stop arguing for a change?' _

_"My bet is on hell no."_ Riolu whispered into his mind and Pikachu's mind, _"I think you'll have a better chance of calming down a raging Spiritomb then calming down these two when they're arguing." _

Pikachu snickered, "Pika. _(Try to see it in a positive light, Ash. Just think of it as free drama and entertainment that you can watch every day)_."

_'I've had enough of this.' _Ash thought and grabbed Pidgeotto's Pokéball, "Pidgeotto, I need your help." He threw Pidgeotto's Pokéball up and it released the avian Pokémon in a flash of white light. Pidgeotto chirped upon release and flew down to land on Ash's outstretched arm.

"Hey there girl. We're lost in the woods and we can't find our way back to the road. Please be a dear and try to find the road for us." Ash said to Pidgeotto.

"Geo! _(Sure)_!" Pidgeotto chirped, happy to help. She beat her wings a couple of times and took flight. She circled in the air a couple of times before choosing a direction and taking of.

Ash turned his attention back to Brock and Misty who where still arguing and hadn't noticed the fact that he had sent Pidgeotto of to find the road for them. Ash's eyebrow twitched.

"Guys!" Ash shouted, getting their attention, "Stop arguing! I've sent Pidgeotto looking for the road. In the meantime I suggest we take a break. Is that all right with you guys?"

Misty and Brock continued on glaring at each other for a long moment before nodding their consent.

Ash looked around and spotted a small clearing a little ways away from them, "Let's go this way." Ash said and started walking. Misty and Brock followed him into the clearing where they sat down on some rocks, sighing in relieve as they took a moment to rest.

_"Ash." _Riolu whispered into his mind, _"We're being watched."_

Ash perked up and looked around warily. Misty, Brock and Pikachu noticed this.

"What's wrong Ash?" Misty questioned.

"Someone's watching us." Ash answered.

_"Behind us, Ash." _Riolu informed him through his Aura.

Ash turned his head to look over his shoulder and noticed two beady red eyes studying them from the shadows of another rock. Brock and Misty craned their heads to look into the direction Ash was looking. The creature walked forwards into the sunlight and revealed itself.

"Hey, it's an Oddish." Misty said excitedly.

"Hey there little guy, are you lost?" Brock said kindly. Misty got a tick mark that pulsed angrily on her temple.

"Odd. _(Hello)_." The Oddish said with a boyish voice. The Weed Pokémon walked forwards and looked curiously at them.

"Is there something you want?" Ash asked curiously.

"Maybe Oddish is hungry and is looking for a bite to eat." Brock guessed and took out a sack of Pokéfood from his backpack. He bent down and held it out to Oddish who sniffed curiously at the sack's contents.

Oddish cried out and was about to gleefully dig in when suddenly a vine shot out of some nearby shrubbery and struck Brock in the face. Brock cried out and fell back on his ass, the sack of Pokéfood fell down on the ground, spilling it's contents.

"Brock!" Ash and Misty cried out in concern for their friend.

A Bulbasaur came rushing out of the shrubbery. The vine that it had used to smack Brock away retracted back into it's body, "Bulba! _(What do you think you're doing!? How many times do I have to say it! You can't trust strangers)_!" Bulbasaur shouted angrily, practically seething.

Bulbasaur shot out another one of his vines and snagged up the shocked Oddish and immediately took of running again, disappearing back into the shrubbery, not once looking back at the three shocked youths and their Pokémon.

"What just happened?" Brock said as he stood up, rubbing his cheek where Bulbasuar's Vine Whip had struck him.

"A Bulbasaur just blindsided you." Ash said, snickering in amusement.

"Yep." Misty said cheerfully. Brock got a tick mark.

"Why did that Bulbasaur to that, though?" Brock wondered after he calmed down.

"I think that Bulbasaur simply doesn't trust strangers and wanted to protect Oddish." Ash guessed. He had only partially understood what Bulbasaur had said because he hadn't been focusing his Aura.

Their conversation was interrupted by Pidgeotto's return. Ash held out his arm and allowed Pidgeotto to land on his wrist, "Hey there girl, did you find the road?"

Pidgeotto shook her head, tussling her feathers, "Geo. _(No, but I did see a bridge not far of. Keep on heading straight and you'll find it. Maybe that will lead back to an open road)_."

Ash nodded in thanks to the Normal and Flying-Type and translated what she had said to Misty and Brock. They quickly got ready to leave.

Ash turned his attention back to Pidgeotto and raised an eyebrow, "Do you want to stay outside or do you want to go back into your Pokéball?"

"Geo. _(I'd rather stay outside for now, thank you)_. Pidgeotto answered and smiled at him. She flapped her wings and took of, circling around their position.

Ash smiled, "Come on guys." He made an impatient gesture and started walking, Riolu and Pikachu on his shoulders and Misty and Brock walking besides him. Pidgeotto followed over head.

It didn't even take the group ten minutes of straight walking to find the bridge which was suspended over a deep ridge with a narrow and fast moving river underneath it.

Brock had taken out his map and frowned as he studied it, "Strange, I can't seem to find this bridge anywhere on the map."

Misty scowled, "Of course not. You aren't reading it right. That's why we got lost in the first place, remember."

Brock's eyebrow twitched at the insult. Ash quickly intervened before things degenerated back into a shouting match, "Let's just go guys. The faster we're on the road's again the fast we'll be in Vermillion City." He said and walked onto the bridge that creaked and swayed in the wind the moment he sat foot on it. Ash gulped but continued walking.

Misty and Brock glared at each other before looking away from each other with twin huffs of annoyance and followed Ash on the bridge.

Suddenly, as the group was halfway across the bridge a hard breeze swept through the valley, violently rocking the bridge. Ash and Brock grabbed onto ropes while Misty stumbled. Their eyes widened as they heard the bridge creak and a rope snapped. The bridge tipped over after another burst of wind, making Ash and Brock hang on for their dear lives unto the bridge while Misty managed to grab Ash's leg mere moments before she would have fallen down into the river.

_"You know, I do not know why I'm even surprised anymore."_ Riolu commented lazily from Ash's shoulder, not at all concerned by their current situation.

"Pi. (_I know what you mean. With all the shit's going on hardly anything surprises me anymore. I was actually kinda expecting for the bridge to snap the moment we stepped foot on it)_." Pikachu drawled, clinging unto Ash's other shoulder.

"Hold on!" Ash barked and pulled himself and Misty up. Misty quietly marvelled at the boy that was easily capable of lifting his own and her weight at the same time.

"Crap! I'm slipping!" Brock shouted as he started sliding of the bridge. Suddenly, Pidgeotto dived out of the sky and snagged Brock up by the hem of his shirt. She flapped her wings hard and lifted him to the other side of the ridge.

"T-thanks." Brock said and sighed in relieve as Pidgeotto safely deposited him.

Ash pulled Misty up and looped his arm around her, getting a good grip on her. Using his Aura to strengthen is muscles he started climbing along the bridge and headed for the ridge. Moments the later the pair was safely on the ridge.

"That was close." Ash commented, all the while shooting suspicious glances at the wrecked bridge, "Why did that bridge suddenly snap? I mean look at it, it looked perfectly fine. The wood isn't rotten and the ropes are tight and thick. Not even mentioning the fact that the bridge looks brand new. I hope we don't have to pay for it."

Misty shook her head, "I'm just glad no one got hurt."

Brock nodded, "That's right. Don't worry about it, Ash. I'll inform the League when we get to the next town or Pokémon Center. The League will fix this right up."

Ash nodded and smiled at Brock's reassurance. The group quickly set of again and continued down the road, unaware that they where being watched and not knowing that they where about to walk into a minefield full of trouble.

* * *

A forest was perfectly capable of hiding things within it's shrubbery and trees. The Hidden Village at the centre of the forest between Cerulean and Vermilion City was the perfect example of this.

It wasn't so much a village but more like an outpost. There were three buildings, four if you counted the shack that covered the entrance to the power generator room underground. There was the cabin where the Human caretaker and the younger Pokémon slept, food was prepared, and other domestic activities. There was the medical building, where the caretaker made the medicine and kept the injured Pokémon for treatment, and then there was the equipment and storage building.

A creek flowed through the village, cutting the clearing into two halves, and providing water for the small pools on either side. Water Pokémon lived in them and some of the other Pokémon played in them.

A Bulbasaur came rushing out of the surrounding woods and into the clearing, holding an Oddish in one of it's vines. Bulbasaur safely deposited the Oddish back on the ground.

"Odd. _(Big brother, did we have to leave so quickly? Those people seemed nice)_." The small Oddish pouted at his 'older brother'.

"Bulba Bulbasaur. _(That's exactly the problem. They _seemed_ nice. You should know better then to approach strangers like that. What if they where Pokémon thieves or some kind of other crooks? You need to be more careful, Oddish)_." Bulbasaur chided his young charge, a light glare on his features.

Oddish pouted again, "Odd_. (I'm glad you're willing to take the time to look after me but it's getting annoying. I'm growing up and can look after myself. And you shouldn't always expect the worst of people, it can't be healthy, being constantly suspicious of everything! You need to lighten up)_."

Bulbasaur sighed and shook his head, "Bulba. _(I'm sorry but I just can't. I have my reasons, Oddish and I can understand where you're coming from but please be more careful in the future, if not for yourself then for my peace of mind, please)_."

Oddish reluctantly nodded, "Odd. _(All right big brother)_." The conversation between the two Grass-Types was interrupted when suddenly a delicious smell wafted into the clearing. Oddish started drooling, "Odd. _(Oh, Melanie is making dinner again! Let's go, Bulbasaur)_!" Oddish said, practically vibrating in excitement.

Bulbasaur smiled, "Bulba. _(I'm sorry, maybe next time, but I need to check up on something)_."

Oddish nodded and bounded away to the cabin where the delicious sent was emanating from and where a plethora of wild Pokémon had gathered for the feast.

Bulbasaur surveyed the scene fondly before turning away. His eyes narrowed as he set off towards the route he most suspected the uninvited guests to take. He was very curious if his traps where capable of scaring the trainers away from the Hidden Village. If not he would have to step in himself no matter how distasteful it was.

Because he couldn't allow them to reach the Hidden Village and get near his friends. Not after what had happened the last time he had let someone close enough to be able to do harm.

_'Never again.'_ Bulbasaur promised to himself as he bounded quickly along the grassy ground, heading for his chosen destination.

It didn't take long for the saurian to reach the rigged wooden bridge. Bulbasaur smiled to himself as he spotted the trainers emerging from the tree line and approach the bridge. His guess had been spot on.

Bulbasaur smirked as the unknowing trainers stepped on the bridge. Just as he had envisioned the bridge buckled under the strain and tipped over. As he had not envisioned the cap wearing trainer and the red headed girl managed to hold onto the bridge, well the boy managed to hold onto the bridge, the girl simply held onto the boy.

The older coloured teen started sliding in but a pesky Pidgeotto snagged him up and safely brought him to the other side while the cap wearing boy helped the girl to get safely across.

The Seed Pokémon watched as the group had a small conversation and snorted at the mention of the League. He watched and followed the group, eagerly awaiting the next slew of traps the trainers where about to walk into.

Just as they where about to walk into a pitfall trap the cap wearing trainer, who he had just noticed had two Pokémon's on his shoulders, halted his friends. Bulbasaur watched in annoyance as the cap wearing boy picked up a small rock and threw it at the ground in front them. As expected the ground caved in and revealed the pitfall trap. How had the boy noticed his trap?

Bulbasaur listened into the ensuing conversation between the trainers and frowned darkly at the mention of Team Rocket. He gritted his teeth at the memories that came to mind and quickly shoved the memories into the back of his mind.

The trainers quickly set off again and Bulbasaur continued on following them. Bulbasaur growled as the group once again evaded one of his traps, an expertly hidden net had been exposed by the cap wearing trainer.

Suddenly, the cap wearing trainer's head snapped into his direction. The Grass-Types eyes widened as he saw the blue glow to the trainer's eyes and gasped when his Pikachu suddenly launched a ThunderBolt at his trainers command into Bulbasaur's direction.

Bulbasaur ran to the side, evading the Thunderbolt attack and exposing himself. He tensed and extracted his vines, readying himself for combat.

* * *

Ash frowned at the Bulbasaur that he just knew had rigged that bridge and had set the traps they had encountered on the way. The saurian tensed and extracted his vines for battle.

He didn't know why this Bulbasaur had done this but it was clear that the Grass-Type was dangerous. He would have to remove the threat. It was either kill him or capture him. Since he shied away from killing for obvious reasons capturing it would be.

But first he took out his Pokédex and used it on Bulbasaur, seeing that he hadn't had the chance to do so before, "Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon. It bears the seed of a plant on it's back from birth. The seed slowly develops. Researchers are unsure whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or animal. Bulbasaur are extremely calm and very difficult to capture in the wild."

Ash quickly put away the machine and trained his eyes on the wary Grass-Type. Suddenly, Bulbasaur surged forwards at them as he extended his vines towards the group in a wide arc.

"Aerial Ace!" Ash snapped out. Bulbasaur blinked, a Pikachu can't learn Aerial Ace and that blue Pokémon looked like a Fighting-Type to him, how then could it learn Aeri-

Bulbasaur's thoughts got interrupted as Pidgeotto slammed into his side with her Aerial Ace attack, sending the saurian flying. Bulbasaur recovered in mid-air and landed on his feet a small ways away. He warily studied the Flying-Type, inwardly berating himself for forgetting the presence of the Pidgeotto that had saved the older teen earlier.

"Gust!" Ash ordered. Pidgeotto nodded and flapped her wings with a lot of force, kicking up a harsh torrent of wind towards Bulbasaur.

Bulbasaur slammed his vines into the ground, using the recoil to send himself flying up and over the Gust attack. He angled himself towards Pidgeotto as a seed appeared on the top of his bulb. He took aim and fired the Leech Seed towards Pidgeotto.

Pidgeotto flapped her wings and bolted upwards at Ash's command, evading the Leech Seed.

"Now while it's in the air! Use Air Slash!" Ash dictated. Pidgeotto flapped her wings once, sending dual white blades of wind at the air-born saurian.

In desperation Bulbasaur launched a slew of Razor Leaf's at the incoming Air Slash. The Air Slash easily sliced through the rather frail razor sharp leaves and continued on towards Bulbasaur. At the last moment Bulbasaur twisted in mid-air and took the dual wind blades of Air Slash into his side. He screeched in pain as the wind blades sliced into his side and dealt super-effective damage.

"And now wrap this up with Aerial Ace!" Ash continued on. Pidgeotto nodded and flapped her wings and dived forwards. With a particularly powerful flap of her great wings she launched herself at the airborne saurian, her body parting the wind and causing many streaks of white wind blades to run past her from the sheer speed she was moving at.

Pidgeotto slammed into Bulbasaur, creating a smoke cloud on impact and knocking out the Seed Pokémon. Bulbasaur fell down the ground as he tumbled head over heels in the air.

"Catch Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto!" Ash commanded. He didn't want Bulbasaur anymore injured then was necessary. Pidgeotto obeyed immediately and swooped down to catch the saurian. She closed her talons around Bulbasaur and glided down gently, depositing him in front of Ash.

Ash took out a Pokéball and tapped it against Bulbasaur's uninjured side. The Pokéball popped open and sucked the Bulbasaur in as he turned into red energy. The Pokéball snapped shut immediately and didn't even wiggle as Bulbasaur was immediately captured.

Ash smiled. Another member had been added to his team and a rare one to boot. Bulbasaur's where rather hard to find in the wild after all.

Ash held up his hand and allowed Pidgeotto to land on his wrist. He petted her head and thanked her for her efforts. Pidgeotto chirped in delight.

"Pika. _(Good job)_." Pikachu complemented.

_"Yeah, you where awesome."_ Riolu backed Pikachu up.

Pidgeotto blushed in embarrassment and looked away with a smile.

"Well." Misty began, "That went rather well. Good job, Ash."

Brock nodded, "Yeah, you didn't even give that Bulbasaur one chance to actually land an attack." Brock turned serious, "But still, why did that Bulbasaur attack us in the first place? And why did it place those traps?"

Ash shrugged, "I know that Bulbasaur's aren't naturally all that aggressive without due cause. Maybe it's hiding or protecting something in the woods." He suggested.

Brock considered it, "Possibly, or maybe Bulbasaur just dislikes Human's. If so Bulbasaur might prove troublesome if he doesn't want to listen to you."

Ash shrugged again, "We'll find out sooner or later. I will ask Bulbasaur what his deal is when he regains consciousness later. Speaking of which, let's stop here for a moment to eat and treat Bulbasaur's wounds."

His friends nodded and quickly released their Pokémon. With practiced efficiency the group laid out the food for their Pokémon friends who dug in with gusto. Then they took out their own food and ate leisurely from their place in the soft grass.

Ash finished the last of his dinner and waited patiently for Brock to finish his own dinner. Then he promptly took out Bulbasaur's Pokéball. Brock nodded at him and took his medical supplies from his backpack.

Ash released the unconscious Bulbasaur on a prepared blanket and looked the Grass-Type over. Except for the gash on his side from the Air Slash and the bruising he took from the direct hit from Aerial Ace Bulbasaur was completely fine and would recover soon, even without medical help.

Brock quickly applied the medicine with the help of Ash and bandaged Bulbasaur's wounds. After checking the saurian over Brock left to check up on his own Pokémon, leaving Ash alone with Bulbasaur.

Not long after that Bulbasaur started to steer. His eyes blinked open and the saurian groaned. What happened? He was following the intruders one moment and then…? Bulbasaur's eyes flew wide open as he tried to bolt up into a standing position only to fall back down, yelping in pain as he aggravated his wounds. Oh yeah, he had been discovered, then defeated in battle and then probably captured. Crap.

"Hey there." Ash greeted as he sat down besides the injured Bulbasaur, "You know, if you wanted to draw our attention you didn't have to make all those traps to do it."

Bulbasaur glared at him, "Bulba! _(Bite me Human)_!" Then he looked disgruntled, "Bulba. _(What am I saying. It's not like you can understand me anyway)_." His eyes lit up slightly, "Bulba! _(That means I can insult you all I want without you even noticing)_!" The saurian cackled lightly at the thought. Ash decided to burst his bubble.

"Actually, I can understand you just fine." Ash said conversationally and smirked at the now wide eyed Bulbasaur, "And you wanted to insult me? Tut tut tut. How very naughty."

"B-bu-l-ba? _(How)_?" The Seed Pokémon stuttered in shock.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." Ash eluded, before his gaze grew stony, "Now, are you going to tell my why you where following us and why set up those traps?"

Bulbasaur composed himself before resolutely looking away from the strange Human, refusing to answer the question.

"Now, now. Don't be like that. That's no way to act to your new trainer." Ash said, just waiting for the reaction.

Bulbasaur's head snapped back to Ash, his eyes having gone huge at the confirmation that he had indeed been captured. He growled at his 'trainer' and bristled in anger. Beyond that the Seed Pokémon remained quiet.

Ash decided on a different approach, "I'm assuming you set up those traps to keep us away from something, something very precious to you. My guess is that this 'something' is in the centre of this forest and that we'll reach it if we keep on walking down this path." Ash said calmly to the now clearly alarmed Bulbasaur, "I'm mighty curious to see just what your so desperate to protect."

"Bulba! _(You can't)_" Bulbasaur blurted out in blind panic.

Ash raised an eyebrow at the reaction. He sighed, "Bulbasaur, I know you don't trust me and you have no reason to but why did you attack us? We've done nothing to you. Why do you distrust strangers so?"

"Bulba! _(I've no reason to explain myself to you Human)_!" Bulbasaur said through gritted teeth.

"That's true." Ash conceded with a nod, "But you had no reason to attack me and my friends either." Ash's eyes hardened, "I think we deserve an explanation."

Bulbasaur stubbornly remained silent.

"You think that by remaining silent we won't be able to find that ever which you are protecting? If we keep going the way we're going we will find it eventually." Ash said. Bulbasaur's eyes widened, "I find myself curious. Just _what _are you protecting?"

Bulbasaur's heart clenched in deep seated fear. The mere thought that _strangers _would find his home and his friends gave him the chills. The mere chance that these _strangers _would have evil intentions made a shiver go down his spine. And the mere possibility that they'd hurt his friends and Melanie made his breath catch.

He couldn't allow them to reach the village. But what could he do? He was injured and unable to fight. There where no more traps remaining in between the village and the strangers. He had no contingency plan. He had nothing.

There was only one thing he could do. Offer himself in trade.

"Bulba! _(Fine Human! What about a deal than)_?" Ash raised an eyebrow and nodded, curious about what kind of deal Bulbasaur was offering.

"Bulba Bulbasaur! _(If you agree to leave whatever I'm protecting in the forest alone, and I mean by leaving it alone to go around it and never ask me about it again, I'll faithfully follow you and take your orders without fail)_." Bulbasaur laid out as he looked Ash in the eyes.

Ash blinked in surprise before shaking his head, "Well, this is unexpected." He looked back at Bulbasaur with a completely serious demeanour, "I don't know why you would offer yourself up so easily but that deal is completely unacceptable to me. I'd never take a Pokémon through a deal, it simply isn't right."

Bulbasaur stiffened at the refusal. Before he could say anything else Ash continued, "I'll make you a counter deal in turn. We'll simply pay a visit to whatever you are protecting and then you'll make the choice if you want to come with me or not. If not, I'll release you."

"Bul! _(No)_!" Bulbasaur snapped. Even if he was being offered his freedom he wouldn't place his friends in danger no matter what.

"I don't think you have a choice in the matter." Ash deadpanned, "What's your problem anyway. It's not like we're gonna do anything bad. What gave you that idea in the first place anyway? You know what, I bet your one of those person's who just doesn't listen to words but will listen to actions. I'm going to prove to you that my friends and I are not bad people." Ash held up Bulbasaur's Pokéball and recalled the saurian before he could get a word in edge wise.

"Are you done yet, Ash?" Misty came walking up to him, putting the last of her supplies back into her red backpack.

Ash nodded, "Yep. Bulbasaur isn't really friendly yet but we'll get there. At the moment I'm more curious to see what Bulbasaur was trying to protect here."

Brock nodded as he two came walking, "Me two. Let's get going."

With that the group set of, continuing down the path and going deeper into the dense foliage of the woods. It took them half an hour of walking or flying in Pidgeotto's case for them to reach what Bulbasaur was protecting. The Hidden Village.

* * *

Melanie was getting worried. Bulbasaur had yet to get back from whatever he was out doing. The blue haired girl was nervously wringing her hands as she waited outside her cabin, nervously scanning the perimeter of the clearing as she desperately hoped to spot the green bulb of her friend.

Bulbasaur was never late.

That was the thought that was constantly rebounding the blue haired girls mind. Bulbasaur had the bad habit of taking of without telling anyone but he always returned before someone began to worry. It just wasn't in Bulbasaur's nature to be late. It worried Melanie dearly.

Melanie was shocked and surprised to see a trio of Pokémon trainers suddenly emerging from the treeline. A Pidgeotto came swooping down to land on the cap wearing trainers head as it's trainer and his friends looked around the clearing with interest.

"Uh, hello. Can I help you?" Melanie said as she approached the trio.

The cap wearing trainer smiled at her and answered, "Hello, we're actually trying to get to Vermilion City but we got lost and ended up here."

Melanie smiled back at the trainer, "Oh, I see. Well, if you want to get back on the road towards Vermilion City just keep heading north from this clearing and you will find it."

Ash smiled again while his friends looked relieved, "Thanks for the help. Oh, I know this might sound a bit strange but do you know a Bulbasaur from around here."

Melanie blinked at the sudden question, "Yes, a Bulbasaur lives here that takes care of the younger Pokémon."

Ash looked sheepish, "And does this Bulbasaur have problems with strangers?"

Melanie blinked before her eyes narrowed, "Did he attack you or did you walk into one of his traps? I swear I've told him to stop doing that that for so long but Bulbasaur never listens! I love him to death but his insistent paranoia drives me op to wall!" After she finished ranting Melanie noticed the hesitant look in Ash's eyes, "What's wrong?"

Ash shifted uneasily, "I, um, kinda caught that Bulbasaur."

Melanie blinked, "You _what_!"

Ash winced, "I'm sorry but Bulbasaur was attacking us and we'd nearly been caught by a couple of his traps. When I discovered him and he attacked us I thought I needed to remove the threat by either killing or capturing him. I obviously went for capturing over killing." He explained swiftly.

Melanie blanched at the mentioning of killing. She calmed herself, "Oh, uhm, all right then. So he's fine then?" She asked just to be sure.

Ash nodded, "Except for the wounds he got from our battle, that we treated by the way, Bulbasaur is completely fine."

Melanie sighed, relieved, "Well, I suppose this is for the best."

Ash blinked, surprised, "How do you figure?"

"This village is a place to care for injured wild Pokémon and to help abandoned Pokémon recuperate and move on." The pretty blue haired girl explained, "Bulbasaur is this village self designated protector and helps me take care of these Pokémon. The problem is that Bulbasaur and I do a to great a job. You see, these Pokémon shouldn't stay here for ever and ever. After they recover the Pokémon are supposed to leave and go back into the wild where they belong but they like it to much here so none of them want to go away. They don't want to return to the outside world. With Bulbasaur leaving I'm hoping that more will eventually follow his example and set out back into the world."

"That's amazing!" Brock exclaimed, "And you do so much by yourself!"

Ash shook his head, jostling Pidgeotto in the process who chirped in irritation, "There's only one problem, Bulbasaur doesn't like me and resents me for capturing him. He will not listen to me any time soon."

Melanie sighed, "I guess I should have expected that." She muttered before her eyes lit up, "Maybe if I talk to him I can get him to cooperate with you."

Ash smiled gratefully, "You would do that for me, thank you."

"Well, it's not just for you but also for Bulbasaur and the village. You see, we have a limited food supply and we don't have enough food to feed an Ivysaur. I've lost count of how many evolutions Bulbasaur has passed up for us. I want Bulbasaur to leave so that he can grow strong and be happy. He may not show it but he dislikes being tied down to one place." Melanie explained. Her eyes widened as she realized something, "Oh, how rude of me. I haven't told you my name have I? I'm Melanie."

Ash smiled at Melanie, "I'm Ash and this is Misty and this here is Brock. And these are my Pokémon Riolu, Pikachu and Pidgeotto." He said, pointing at his friends one by one. His Pokémon smiled and nodded at Melanie in greeting.

"Nice to meet you." Misty said politely.

Brock's response was a bit more enthusiastic. He suddenly appeared kneeling in front of the startled Pokémon caretaker and took her right hand. He smiled daringly up at her, "Oh my fair maiden. I'm Brock. Accept my love and ride of with me into the su-"

"Keep quiet you." Misty hissed and roughly grabbed the aspiring Pokémon breeders ear and dragged him away from the shocked Melanie.

"Why meeeeee!" Brock whined as he was dragged away.

"Sorry about that, Brock's a bit girl craxy." Ash said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"It's all right. I've met guy's who where far more pushy then him." Melanie assured him, "Anyway, could you release Bulbasaur so that I can talk to him?"

Ash nodded and took Bulbasaur's Pokéball from his belt, and enlarged it with a quick tap to the button on it's centre, "Come on out, Bulbasaur." He threw the Pokéball into the air which burst open and released the saurian right in front of Melanie.

Bulbasaur quickly took in the situation the moment he was released and was overjoyed to see Melanie, "Bulba! _(Melanie! Thank Arceus you're all right)_!"

Melanie smiled at Bulbasaur, "Hey, Bulbasaur. I'm glad to see that you're fine." She turned serious, "We need to talk, in private." Her eyes flickered to Ash. Getting the hint Ash went to join Misty and Brock who where arguing again.

Melanie crouched down and held out her arms. Bulbasaur jumped into her embrace and nuzzled her, "Bulbasaur." Melanie murmured, "We have something very important to discuss. I need you to listen to me and remain quiet until I'm finished, okay?" Bulbasaur nodded.

"Good." Melanie said, "Please don't take this the wrong way but I want you to go with Ash." Bulbasaur looked up, shocked. Melanie quickly continued, "Just hear me out. You can't grow in this village, Bulbasaur. Don't try to deny it. If you go with Ash you can go see the world and grow stronger, you don't have to keep of evolving anymore two. Please, give Ash a chance. He beat you in battle and treated you well, isn't that worthy of respect?" Seeing that Bulbasaur still looked uncertain Melanie decided on a different approach, "I just know he's a good person. He even helped you after you attacked him. He hasn't done anything technically bad has he?" Bulbasaur reluctantly shook his head, "See, just give him a chance and I'll promise you, you won't regr-" Her last words got cut of as a curious sound echoed in the clearing.

Everyone in the clearing, the Humans and the Pokémon, looked up as they heard the distinct sound of flapping wings on mass. Every single one was surprised to see what appeared to be massive flock of Spearow's converging on their location. They where even more surprised to see a strange flying machine following close after the flock.

It was a double-rotor helicopter. The helicopter was long and had a spherical windshield with two rectangular rocket and missile launchers on each side of the fuselage. The two most glaring features of the helicopter was the currently empty metal cage that was hanging down from the helicopter and the big red capital 'R' painted unto the side of the helicopter's hule.

Ash groaned, "Oh no, not them again."

Misty growled, "Team Rocket." She spat.

Brock frowned, "They never give up do they?"

Pikachu shrugged with a malicious grin, "Pika. _(Eh, they're good practice if anything and it's fun sending them flying every time we meet them)_." Pidgeotto and Riolu nodded along with Pikachu's statement, smirking.

Melanie's and Bulbasaur's faces hardened. They had heard of Team Rocket before and in Bulbasaur's case even dealt with them before, "Do you know these people, Ash?" Melanie questioned.

Ash nodded unhappily, "Yeah, they tried to steal my and my friends Pokémon a couple of times. These three have been following us around far a while now."

Inside the helicopter Jessie, James and Meowth smirked in their seats from behind the controls. Jessie grinned and pressed a switch, activating the loudspeakers, "We're back, Twerp's! And we brought friends this time, a whole flock of them! What do you think of our flock of Spearow droids!"

_'Droids?'_ All of them thought in surprise. They scrutinized the flock more closely and realized that every single Spearow was machine, a droid, replicas of real Spearow's, easy to see from their yellow glowing eyes and the seams and bolts in their metal constructions.

Meowth smirked, "Let's get this show on the road! Spearow flock, engage!" He shouted, punching a button.

The flock of mechanical Spearow's screeched, nearly deafening everyone in the clearing, and dived at the Pokémon and Human's below.

"Everybody into the cabin, hurry!" Melanie shouted and ran inside, Bulbasaur still in her arms. The Pokémon under her care immediately followed her example and ran to the cabin. Several of the mechanical Spearow's came swooping down, steel claws outstretched to capture the wild Pokémon.

"Discharge!" Ash ordered. Pikachu jumped into the air and cried out his name, releasing a maelstrom of lightning in all directions, deliberately steering the lightning bolts skywards at the rapidly incoming Spearow's. The moment the lightning bolts struck the Spearow's they screeched and gave out as the electricity short circuited their wiring.

"Quick, hurry!" Brock yelled as he held open the door to the cabin. All the wild Pokémon quickly surged in, followed by Misty and then by Ash with his Pokémon and finally Brock who slammed the door shut behind him.

Inside the wild Pokémon huddled into a corner, deadly afraid. Bulbasaur stood in front of the door, eyes narrowed and vines ready to lash out. Melanie stood in the back, her posture tense and shooting glances at everyone around the room. Misty and Brock where looking intently at the door, their Pokéball's already in hand and ready to unleash their Pokémon in a moments notice. Ash stood behind Bulbasaur, his Pokémon around him and ready to act at his command.

A wild series of thuds and the sound of ripping wood were heard loud and clear in the cabin as the mechanical flock of Spearow's descended on the cabin and tore into it with their sharp steel beaks and claws.

"The cabin won't last long like this." Melanie announced, looking nervously at the wooden walls, just waiting for them to give way to the relentless assault.

"What do we do?" Misty questioned everyone in the room.

Suddenly, Brock gave a very uncharacteristic smirk, "I've got an idea."

They where all ears.

* * *

The Team Rocket Trio grinned from inside their Team Rocket battle helicopter. All three where looking at the cabin through the reinforced glass of their helicopter, just waiting with barely contained impatience for the flimsy structure to collapse under the assault of their flock.

"Here we come big paycheck!" Jessie shouted gleefully, almost salivating at thought of capturing and selling all the wild and the Twerp's Pokémon.

"And use it to life a live of luxury from now on!" James followed, equally as gleeful.

"And I'll prove that _I'M _the top cat!" Meowth shouted with vigour.

Suddenly, without any notice or warning the door of the cabin was blasted of it's hindges and sent sailing through the air. Their mechanical flock immediately took note of this and flew at the gaping hole in their prey's defences, funneling a large part of their massive flock to the door in one big wave of steel.

A big mistake.

A huge bolt of lightning came screaming out of the door, consuming and destroying almost a quarter of the flock in it's wrath that had been funneling into the opening. The mechanical Spearow's detonated inside the current of lightning, blowing away the rest of the flock.

There was no time to act or to reform their ranks for the droid Spearow's as Pidgeotto with Pikachu on her back came soaring out of the cabin and took to the sky with an Aerial Ace, quickly gaining altitude and destroying any of the fake Spearow's that where unlucky enough to get in her way.

The moment the duo got high enough Pikachu jumped from Pidgeotto's back, his cheeks sparking with electricity in preparation for an electrical attack.

Pidgeotto went into a steep dive with another Aerial Ace in order to get out of Pikachu's attack range and to set up their next stage of their plan.

With a loud cry of 'PIKA!' Pikachu unleashed a massive Discharge attack. The maelstrom of lightning actually blocked out the sky with it's golden currents of lightning as it rained down lightning bolts at the flock of droid Spearow's, picking them of one by one in quick succession.

Pidgeotto reached the ground level and turned on a dime mere moments before she would have touched down, creating a blast of air and disturbing the soil and ruffling the grass. She spread her wings wide as they glowed a solid white as she prepared to use her most powerful attack: Hurricane.

She flapped her wings harshly in quick succession, kicking up a swirling current of air that formed into a small hurricane that whipped around angrily before surging forwards under her guided power. The mechanical Spearow's struggled to get away as the winds tried to suck them into the hurricane but only half of the remaining droids managed to keep themselves from being pulled in.

Pidgeotto gritted her beak. Not good enough. Their plan relied on her to get every single Spearow droid in her attack.

She flapped her wings even harder, powering up her Hurricane attack as far as she could. Her hurricane swelled and doubled in size, capturing even more Spearow droids, but didn't even come close to capturing them all.

Pidgeotto's sharp eyes narrowed. It wasn't enough. She needed more power, more strength. Answering her command her wings started flapping even harder as her power output increased and her hurricane swelled in size.

More...

More...

More...

MORE!

Pidgeotto was so consumed in her efforts, so focused on controlling her power, that she didn't even notice when a new power started flooding her, that her body was shining a bright indecent white and that her form had started to enlarge...

With a squeak of triumph she unconsciously channeled her new strength into her Hurricane attack...

...tripling it in size.

The hurricane now dominated the clearing and was only steps away from uprooting all the trees in the vicinity and obliterating the structures of the Hidden Village. The hurricane sucked in every last Spearow droid and even pulled in the Team Rocket battle helicopter, much to the distress of Team Rocket who where screaming in panic and trying to get free.

Pidgeotto's evolution in Pidgeot now complete, the white glow receding and revealing her now far larger size and even more impressive plumage, she gave one final hard flap with her great wings, completing her attack.

The hurricane now had every single droid Spearow in it's grasp and pulled them skywards in it's deadly winds.

Right towards the lightning storm that was Pikachu's Discharge attack.

The hurricane flung every single Spearow droid into the storm of lightning, where they where fried and destroyed by the hellish currents.

Finally the Team Rocket's battle helicopter itself was thrown into the lightning storm where it held out for a brieve moment, until the defences against electrical attacks Team Rocket had installed into it failed, and the machine detonated, once again sending Team Rocket flying of to parts unknown, _again_.

It's job done the hurricane slowed down and dispelled itself as it lost power.

Pidgeot smirked in satisfaction.

Pikachu's attack ended, the concentrated electrical currents disappeared and a panting Pikachu fell from the sky. Pidgeot flapped her wings and took of, noting that she seemed far faster now, and caught Pikachu on her back.

"PiKA! _(Wow, that was exhausting an-WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU)_?!" Pikachu screeched the last part.

Pidgeot frowned, "Geo? _(What are you talking about)_?"

"Pika! _(What am I talking about?! You're three times your former size! You didn't notice yourself _evolving_)_?!" Pikachu shouted incredulously.

Pidgeot had just mastered the gobsmacked look.

She looked herself over and became aware that her bodies proportions had tripled in size, her wings where absolutely massive in comparison with their former size, her talons where also larger and looked sharper then ever and she could feel the increased length of the feathers on her head-crest that where now almost the length of her body.

_'Huh, I did evolve.'_ She realized, shocked.

She landed lightly in in front of the cabin just as her trainer and her friends stepped out of the cabin, closely followed by Melanie, Bulbasaur and the wild Pokémon. All of them looked shocked the moment they spotted her.

Ash was the first one to snap out it. He bounded up to her, "That's great that you evolved Pidgeotto! Uh, I mean Pidgeot!"

Riolu raised an eyebrow at her, _"Wow, look at you! You're even bigger than Ash!"_ It was true, Pidgeot was almost a head taller than her trainer. She made Riolu and Pikachu look tiny in comparison.

As Brock and Misty both congratulated Pidgeot for evolving Melanie and Bulbasaur where looking each other dead in the eye, having a silent conversation. A thousand things where said in one glance between the two.

"Odd. _(Goodbye, big brother)_." Oddish said softly as he smiled sadly at his 'older brother'. The rest of the wild Pokémon followed his lead and said goodbye to their friend and long time protector.

Bulbasaur gave them a watery smile and started walking towards Ash. Ash turned around from petting his newly evolved Pidgeot and looked at Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur nodded at him and extracted one of his vines. He turned and looked at Melanie and his friends one last time before tapping the button in the centre of the Pokéball and allowed himself to be recalled.

"You better take good care of him." Melanie said, sniffing as she tried to hide her tears.

"I Will." Ash promised, smiling.

* * *

**A/N: And that was chapter thirteen, my biggest chapter to date with nearly 14000 words! I hope you guys liked it.  
**

**Oh, and if you haven't noticed I've deleted the descriptions of the Pokémon in my story for a few simple reasons. A: They are cumbersome to write. B: You guys most probably know what the Pokémon look like anyway, if not you can look it up via google. And C: It's boring to read the descriptions of Pokémon, to my understanding most people simple skip right over those descriptions.**

**Please Review and do whatever the hell you like afterwards!**

**Your dearest,**

**Theblazinghope2235.**


End file.
